"Just" a ___________

Guys, remember that rant I went on about people calling nurses "just" a nurse or CNA's "just" a CNA? I got caught calling myself "just" a nursing student the other day at clinicals.

It all started with a pt's family member coming to the nurses' station asking for a snack for the pt or something. I can't remember. Anyway, we talked for a few minutes because I was the only person there and I was just charting. After the conversation was done, he looked at me with a frown on his face and said, "So, I know techs (CNA's) are in bright blue, nurses are in dark blue or white, and everyone else has a special color. What does white with blue sweaters mean?"

"Well," I started, "The dark blue scrubs are for the real nurses and all of us in white are just students. Students also have the choice of wearing a blue sweater if they want one."

He looked at me for a second, not quite satisfied with my answer. Then he replied, "You aren't just a student. You worked really hard to get to this point and a lot of people never make it as far as you have already gotten."

I was speechless. Never have I been so encouraged and humbled simultaneously. I understand that nurses are super great. I get that. Why do you think I want to be a nurse? But I never really realized how weighted the title of nurse is. People hold nurses in such high regards. Over the past few months, I have been seeing the little memes on Pinterest about how hard nursing is and how amazing nurses think they are. They are pretty amazing, don't get me wrong. It just seems to me that people in my nursing class-I don't know about anywhere else-are getting big heads. Their egos are quickly swelling and they talk about other majors and other professions as being less than being a nurse. They (and my professors) also seem to be quite against most doctors... but that's another story.

Guys, nurses are fantastic. They do a lot of necessary and extra special things to make sure that their patients can be as healthy as possible. However, every job that anyone has in society holds a special place in our intricately woven country.

So, while I say not to call yourself "just" a nurse or CNA. I am also very passionate about nobody calling yourself "just" an anything. You are hand-made by THE Creator of the Universe. You may not know why you are here, but you are here for a reason. You are not just some person, a bag of bones, or a random life. No. You were "knitted together in your mother's womb," you are cherished, watched after, and valuable. Don't forget it.