Today I watched Tracy Morgan, a comedian who was critically injured in a motor vehicle accident last year, give his first interview since his accident. He shared that one of his first memories as he came out of his coma was “Nurse Jackie.” He said that after he came out of his coma, he remembered cursing and throwing things at Nurse Jackie. Her response was “everything’s gonna be alright”.

After discharge, Mr. Morgan returned for a visit to the nursing unit. When he saw Nurse Jackie, he says he “grabbed her and wouldn’t let her go. I said I was sorry.” Her reply: “I told you everything was going to be alright.” He also spoke of another nurse who rubbed his hand everyday and gave him words of encouragement.

Nurses make a difference. It is the intangible that we cannot explain to people when they ask us about our job. Yes, we learn to provide assessments, individualized plans of care, interventions, and evaluate outcomes, but why do we really do all of these things? Why do we have the ability to deal with unpleasant bodily secretions? Who else does this? Well, because we bond with the patient, no, the person, in the bed. We help give them strength. We help them to believe that they will get better every day. Nurses do this with a touch, a kind word, and sometimes a joke.

It was very moving to watch Mr. Morgan tear up as he talked about his care givers. What do nurses appreciate about their job? The privilege of helping a person through some of the most difficult times of their life. This is the gift that nurses give themselves.

Marla Sutton is an instructor in SPC’s A.S. Nursing degree program. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia and her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania. During her career, she has worked in adult health nursing, with a focus on critical care and emergency nursing experience.