CANADIAN HEALTH CARE AND OUR NURSES

As Nursing Week is ending in Canada, I thought about some considerations of the ideas and events of the last week. One nursing speaker asked the audience what made a good day at work. My response as I was one of 3 people that actually put up my hand and answered the question was the chance to work in a health care setting with so many wonderful staff and many of them are nurses. As a Social Worker, my role is a secondary, supportive one to the team. Primary medical and nursing care are the norm in a hospital setting. Counselling, bereavement, resources, team support, discharge planning and many miscellaneous tasks and processes are the standard requirements for many social workers in health care settings. So what makes a good work day for me- when I am challenged by complex cases and situations, when I am able to console and counsel a patient/family in a difficult situation and when I witness the appreciation that many of our families show for the staff. The hospital setting is complex with many different programs and services. It hums! But it saves lives or gives compassionate care at the end of life and everything in between! I am hoping I will be able to end my career in this hospital setting. I work at York Central Hospital in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. It is an amazing thriving setting. As for our Nurses, I hope they enjoyed their special week! Do you have a favourite hospital? Have you had an experience with a nurse that was memorable? Are we the best health care system in the world? Perhaps,but it is the one I know and I try to work every day to put it on the road to being the best. If you work in health care, what are you doing to ensure Canada ranks the best in the world? What do you bring to your job? If you are not a nurse, congratulate the nurses in your area for the fine work they do!