Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC

Ode to the Road Warrior

 

Oh, Road Warrior Nurse,
We love you so.
By car, train or plane
Each week you go.

Shoving a week’s worth of clothes
In a small carry-on,
Laptop and tablet,
Bagged and rolling along.

You come to our buildings,
Ready to train,
Or audit, mock survey —
Improvement’s your aim.

Sleep is a commodity
You rarely achieve.
Yet you fly through our buildings,
Leaving a breeze.

You stay in hotels that are 3 stars,
And eat meals that are really, oh, so poor,
Just to help lift us
To 4 stars or more.

You sacrifice a lot
So we can be great.
Just know that we notice
And really — really — appreciate!

Just keeping it real,

Nurse Jackie

The Real Nurse Jackie is written by Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC, an APEX Award of Excellence winner for Blog Writing. Vance is a real life long-term care nurse. A nationally respected nurse educator and past national LTC Nurse Administrator of the Year, she also is an accomplished stand-up comedienne. She has not starred in her own national television series — yet. The opinions supplied here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer or her professional affiliates.