In honor of National Nurses Week 2022, we are proud to highlight three of our amazing nurses at Solvere Living: Lorie Dancy, MSN, RN, CRNP, Dr. Marquette Leach, DNP, RN and Janice Tucker, RN.
Nurses bring a compassionate, personal touch to medical care and often are the first and last people to care and advocate for us through all of life’s transitions.
National Nurses Week was created to show appreciation to nurses who make an impact on the healthcare system and the lives of their patients. It begins on May 6th and ends on May 12th – Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Florence Nightingale was a British nurse and social reformer known for being the founder of modern nursing.
We interviewed Lorie, Marquette & Janice about their nursing career and we would love to share their stories.
We wanted to know why Lorie wanted to become a nurse and she responded by sharing her story about her mother. “My mom was a nurse and I had the privilege of visiting her at her place of work as a little girl and hearing many of her nursing stories. I always liked the idea of being able to save lives and help people get better. I believed that even If they never recovered, I could contribute to them feeling their best in whatever situation they were in.
For Marquette, his nursing story started in high school, when he reluctantly took a job working full-time on weekends at an assisted living community, but quickly fell in love with senior living as a process.
Thinking back on his time as a nurse, Marquette says one particular moment stood out, a legacy moment early on in his career. “There have been special nurses who I watched over the years that have made a huge impact on my practice. I recall many years ago, watching my then new wellness and memory care directors who at the time were both new to assisted living; I recall how they worked as our directors during the day and they stayed through the night with residents so they wouldn’t be alone. These quiet acts of care taught me so much about what nurses do and who they are.”
COVID has been a very hard time for everyone, especially nurses. Lorie, Marquette and Janice would like our readers to know that nurses have extended themselves as they always do and placed patients and residents before themselves throughout the COVID pandemic. The early days of the COVID pandemic were undoubtedly a scary time for most of us, nurses included. However, during that time our nurses focused on trying to stay knowledgeable about the evolving information on the virus.
Nursing is the nation’s largest healthcare profession, with more than 3.8 million registered nurses nationwide. Of all licensed RNs, 84.5% are employed in nursing and due to the COVID epidemic, they are needed now more than ever (American College of Nursing).
Lorie’s advice to someone starting their nursing career would be to “Make sure you have a passion to do this and that it’s not just a way to earn a living or you won’t do the job well. A few things nursing requires are caring, selflessness and having tenacity and grit. It has the expectation for you to encourage people but often share difficult news, to act fast, think critically and be exact in making the right decision, advocate on behalf of a victim and empathize and care for the offender, to look past irrationality and to hold the hand of someone in their last moments. It’s a career choice you carry with you wherever you go. Lastly, I would say if you have passion and love for nursing, do everything you can to become one. We need nurses, but even more, we need nurses who have the heart.”
We know there are many more nurses throughout our nation who are worthy of recognition. Please take time to let an important nurse in your life know they are valued and appreciated – not only during Nurses Week – but every week.
Tell us about a time a nurse made an impact on your life and don’t forget to #ThankANurse!
