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Across generations and disciplines, nurses share a common bond — the desire to help others.
The bond was evident at Brenau University’s East Campus at Featherbone Communiversity in Gainesville on Thursday morning.
The third annual Masters in the Art of Nursing ceremony provided nursing professionals in the community with an opportunity to honor those who demonstrate the characteristics of a master nurse.
The program is a collaborative effort of Brenau University with The Longstreet Clinic, Northeast Georgia Health System and the Warren Featherbone Foundation.
Seven master nurses were honored and each took a few minutes to speak to their peers, nursing students and high school students from The Featherbone Communiversity Academy.
The nurses shared the highlights of their careers and the moments that made them into master nurses.
Lorena Floyd said she believes that each step in her career brought her to her current role as parish nurse for the First United Methodist Church in Gainesville.
She recalled one part-time nursing job she held prior to her present role where she cared for the feet of elderly patients at senior centers.
“It was a rewarding experience. With a foot in my hands I listened to stories, concerns... it was a beautiful type of nursing,” Floyd said.
The nurses discussed how important listening to patients is for their care. Knowing what the patient is going through allows nurses to treat the patient holistically, taking their mental, physical and spiritual well-being into account.
“You have to use your senses. Figure out what is wrong first by listening. Everyone has got a story to tell. You just have to let them tell it,” Anga-Lee Tipton said.
All of the nurses followed unique paths in their careers and had stories to tell about their experiences.
The stories ranged from hilarious to heartbreaking but by sharing, the nurses exposed the humanity that can sometimes seem hidden in a clinical setting.
“We laugh a lot in the emergency room, sometimes inappropriately,” Barry Cape said, “But that’s the way we make it through the day. If we didn’t laugh, we’d be crying.”
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