This week is Nursing Week! Amanda Ross-White’s letter to her nurse is featured on the CBC Radio program White Coat, Black Art

Because I work with nurses every day, I feel a connection to them. One of the things I ask the new nursing students in September is why they want to be a nurse, and what type of nursing they hope to do. I am amazed at how many of those young students want to work in obstetrics, specifically because they don’t want to deal with sadness. Of course, their eyes are opened sometime before they graduate. Working in obstetrics does not keep the sadness and grief at bay. And most of them turn out to be the kindest, most dedicated nurses, even when coping with death every day. I admire them so much for their ability to hold it together, and to guide us into motherhood, when a pregnancy ends.

Nurses, we don’t thank you enough for all you do. Please remember our gratitude during your toughest days. Even if your patients do not always say so, we really are grateful.