During this Nurses Week We Remember...

Today during National Nurses Week, we would like to remember the nurses who gave their all- to care and protect their patients- and the nurses who paid the ultimate price in service. We'll also provide important information for nurses to utilize to protect themselves and each other.

We remember Gail Sandidge, a nurse in the Ambulatory Surgery Center of Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview, Texas, who was killed November 26, 2013, after a fatal stabbing attack. Steve Altmiller, head of Good Shepherd Health Systems, said Sandidge had died trying to protect her patients. She was in the midst of caring for pre-surgical pediatric patients, when she confronted the killer. "Nurses are protectors by nature. And Gail, she fit that profile,” he said. "She was protecting her patients in an act of courage today, and in so doing, she lost her life."

Gail Sandidge & Patient

He also said Sandidge had worked with the hospital for close to 20 years and described her as "a huge Baylor fan, a mother, a grandmother, a healer, a trainer, a mentor, a nurturer."


Nurse.com has put together a tribute to Mrs. Sandidge with pictures provided by her family. Among them include this photo, taken that very morning, of Nurse Gail and a patient she would later selflessly defend.

Haye dispensary showing
abandoned polio vaccine kits

We remember the many dedicated nurses and workers working endlessly to protect children from the threat of polio. Many have lost their lives in terrorists acts. Deaths had occurred as recent as last week, where three workers in Afghanistan were murdered and a nurse injured. The campaign of violence against the humanitarian workers has stretched to Pakistan, and threatens the polio vaccination initiatives. Nursingworld Nigeria powerfully states, "as we look back together, towards moving forward in the interest of the profession and nurses, we particularly call for an end to the state of insecurity that is sweeping through parts of the country threatening lives particularly nurses. We painfully remember  Jamila yusuf, whom was killed in the line of duty as a polio vaccinator on February 8, 2013 along with 10 other polio workers."

We remember the many nurses who have been injured while on duty. The two nurses in California, injured in April, stabbed as they were working.  The five nurses seriously at Sheffield's Northern General Hospital after a patient began kicking and punching staff as he wandered through corridors. The nurse who required brain surgery in February after being brutally attacked by a patient while on duty at a Brooklyn Hospital. The countless others who didn't make the headlines.

According to an article in the New York Times, "nursing ranks among the worst occupations in terms of work-related injuries." This week, and every week, be sure to spend time to take care of yourself. Nursing is a rewarding profession, but if you're not mentally or physically prepared, you may end up a patient yourself.

Information for Nurses to Protect Themselves

How nurses can care for themselves

Caring for Those Who Care: A Tribute to Nurses and Their Safety

Check out this important video, featured on Scrubsmag.com, that takes a wholehearted look at why the most important thing for a nurse is to take care of him/herself first — a message that is vitally important as nurses spend their lives caring for others, often at the expense of their own emotional and physical health.



Health Promotion in Nurses: Is There a Healthy Nurse in the House?

How nurses can nourish themselves through shift work hours

Nurses Can Still Take Care of Self While Caring for Patients