Clarian Health has traditionally celebrated National Nurses Week at its downtown Indianapolis hospitals with an extensive lineup of events, activities, get-togethers and giveaways.
It used to start in late April and run through the end of May, usually capped with a day or two for nurses and nurse leaders at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, watching cars practice or compete for spots in the famed Indy 500 race.
Of late, we’ve taken a second (and third) look at our celebrations and asked ourselves: Do umbrellas as gifts and offers of free makeovers really make nurses feel appreciated for the work they do? Do they want to take time away from their families and friends and spend it with us – their employer – at an event we stage after hours to say thanks for a job well done?
More and more, we’ve realized that it’s not the gift or event that counts. It’s the motivation and the thought behind it. Is it genuine? Is it meaningful? Is it appropriately thanking those you intend to thank?
Last year, we changed our Nurses Week lineup and substituted some new things and got rid of some old habits in hopes of instilling a new way of thinking among our professional nursing staff.
For example, in lieu of a small gift for each nurse, we opted for charity and asked our nurses to identify nurse-led or nurse-inspired programs operating at our hospitals so that a significant donation could be made in the name of nursing, in honor of Nurses Week.
One program RNs identified was “Got You Covered” at Methodist Hospital’s Emergency Department, which provides sweatpants and sweatshirts to patients who don’t have clothing to wear after they are treated and released. A nurse started it; a nurse still runs it; and nurses KNOW it makes a difference to patients. We were happy to donate money to that cause in the name of great nurses at Clarian.
We’re doing the same thing again this year, and already, triple the number of nurse-led or nurse-inspired programs have been identified as potential recipients of a Nurses Week donation. That’s a step in the right direction, I think.
I believe, as does Clarian, that nurses are at the heart of health care. Nurses Week is an opportunity to say thanks to nurses who do the work of heroes, but it’s also an opportunity to think differently about how we recognize and appreciate that work … every day of the year.
Lydia Ostermeier, MSN, RN, CHCR
Director of Nurse Recruitment, Retention, Workforce Development, Resource Allocation & Customer Service
losterme@clarian.org
317-962-1886
To be a registered nurse at Clarian, visit RN Job Opportunities Indiana.
It used to start in late April and run through the end of May, usually capped with a day or two for nurses and nurse leaders at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, watching cars practice or compete for spots in the famed Indy 500 race.
Of late, we’ve taken a second (and third) look at our celebrations and asked ourselves: Do umbrellas as gifts and offers of free makeovers really make nurses feel appreciated for the work they do? Do they want to take time away from their families and friends and spend it with us – their employer – at an event we stage after hours to say thanks for a job well done?
More and more, we’ve realized that it’s not the gift or event that counts. It’s the motivation and the thought behind it. Is it genuine? Is it meaningful? Is it appropriately thanking those you intend to thank?
Last year, we changed our Nurses Week lineup and substituted some new things and got rid of some old habits in hopes of instilling a new way of thinking among our professional nursing staff.
For example, in lieu of a small gift for each nurse, we opted for charity and asked our nurses to identify nurse-led or nurse-inspired programs operating at our hospitals so that a significant donation could be made in the name of nursing, in honor of Nurses Week.
One program RNs identified was “Got You Covered” at Methodist Hospital’s Emergency Department, which provides sweatpants and sweatshirts to patients who don’t have clothing to wear after they are treated and released. A nurse started it; a nurse still runs it; and nurses KNOW it makes a difference to patients. We were happy to donate money to that cause in the name of great nurses at Clarian.
We’re doing the same thing again this year, and already, triple the number of nurse-led or nurse-inspired programs have been identified as potential recipients of a Nurses Week donation. That’s a step in the right direction, I think.
I believe, as does Clarian, that nurses are at the heart of health care. Nurses Week is an opportunity to say thanks to nurses who do the work of heroes, but it’s also an opportunity to think differently about how we recognize and appreciate that work … every day of the year.
Lydia Ostermeier, MSN, RN, CHCR
Director of Nurse Recruitment, Retention, Workforce Development, Resource Allocation & Customer Service
losterme@clarian.org
317-962-1886
To be a registered nurse at Clarian, visit RN Job Opportunities Indiana.
Lydia became a nurse to have a challenging and rewarding career, which she has happily pursued at only Wishard Hospital and Clarian since obtaining her RN licensure.
Julie entered nursing as a second career in search of a way to give back to the community and as a personal path to fulfillment, after having lived the glamorous but somewhat empty life as a manager in a retail jewelry store.
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