Watch: What Does It Really Mean to Be a Nurse? 8 Nurses Explain #NursingDefined

Each year for the second week of May, NurseJournal joins the nursing community to celebrate and uplift the nurses caring for our loved ones and helping to hold the healthcare system together. This year, NurseJournal’s Nurses Week 2022 theme is #NursingDefined.

Nursing is an individual journey for each inspired caregiver, and the pathway to nursing can look different for each student. With the vast amount of specializations in nursing, how nursing is defined can shift from nurse to nurse.

“Nurses are more than what you see at the bedside. We do so many things,” says Michael Krot, critical care transport nurse.

Nurses have complex identities outside of their work itself, too. They are parents, entrepreneurs, artists, fixers, geniuses, caretakers, workhorses, scientists, leaders, politicians, and so much more.

NurseJournal asked nurses to own their narrative and tell us: What does it really mean to be a nurse?

“It’s not just a job, it’s never just a job. It’s a dedication,” says Denise McLean Walcott, pediatric nurse.

In the video below, eight nurses define what it means to be a nurse and how nursing is just one part of their identity.

Download this flier to define nurses in your own words.