The Care That Helps Us Grow

September always feels a little like a turning point. The pace picks up, calendars fill, and the leaves start to fall. If you don’t already know, fall is typically my least favorite season, with two exceptions! AMSN Convention and the return of football! In just under two weeks, medical-surgical nurses from across the country will gather in Palm Springs, California, Sept. 24–26, for the premier event in medical-surgical nursing. We are set to learn, connect, recharge, and remind one another that none of us does this work alone!

I am looking forward to being surrounded by nurses again, the conversations in the exhibit hall, the shared stories between sessions, and the ideas that follow us home and find their way into our practice. Convention is certainly about education, but it is also about community. It is a chance to step away from the constant demands of our work long enough to remember the energy, expertise, humor, and growth opportunities that exist within this specialty.

To keep you updated, I have also been thinking about the growth of the tomato and pepper plants I started growing this summer. They are still there; technically, I added two peppers into the tomato sauce just tonight! But they are not thriving as well as they could be. If I am honest, it is certainly because I have not given them enough attention. They have not received enough water, enough weeding, or enough of the small but consistent care that helps things grow.

I suspect many of us can relate.

Nurses are very good at noticing what others need. We assess, anticipate, intervene, encourage, teach, and advocate — often all before lunch. We can recognize when a patient is declining, when a colleague needs support, or when a team needs someone to step in. Yet we are not always as quick to recognize when we need restoration, encouragement, or connection.

This is not a message suggesting that a few days away at a convention — or even a spa retreat (can we plan that next?!) — can solve the real challenges nurses face. Staffing concerns, increasing patient complexity, workplace violence, moral injuries, and the ongoing need for respect for nursing expertise deserve meaningful attention and action. Caring for ourselves and one another is not separate from that work. It is part of how we remain able to do it.

AMSN exists to provide that kind of support: A place to learn, to be challenged, to share what works, to ask honest questions, and to be reminded that medical-surgical nursing is filled with people who understand both the complexity of the work and the pride that comes with doing it well.

So, whether I see you in Palm Springs or connect with you in another way this fall, I hope you will take a moment to consider what helps you grow. And perhaps, if you have a plant that has been quietly waiting for your attention, give it a little water too.

As always reach out to me at President@AMSN.org.