40 Uplifting Quotes To Honor Our Nurses
I asked three friends (Vicki, Cindy, and Taryn) who have been in nursing for more than 40 years, why they chose this profession. They, of course, enjoy the science of medicine, but as Cindy puts it, “I enjoy the fulfillment when I am able to answer patient’s healthcare questions and guide them through acute and chronic health issues.” But they all know they’re making a true difference in people’s lives.
Nurses endure long hours, sore feet, and complaints while calming scared patients and worried loved ones. These dedicated professionals have the ability to make you feel like you’re their only patient in any moment. However, with this intense job comes burnout and Vicki stresses that “it is important for the nurse to take care of themselves emotionally, physically, mentally, and professionally to survive.” At the end of the day, they all agree that they wouldn’t choose any other job. To honor our nurses, we wanted to share some of our favorite inspirational and humorous quotes. Many of the quotes are from unknown authors, but I’ll bet 90% of them came from nurse! Share one or two with your favorite nurse today.
Inspirational Nurse Quotes
"As a nurse we have the opportunity to heal the mind, soul, heart, and body of our patients. They may forget your name but they will never forget how you made them feel." – Maya Angelou
"Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a battle." – Plato
"Nurses are angels in comfortable shoes.”
"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." – Mahatma Ghandi
"No matter how difficult the days may get, don’t forget the reason you became a nurse.”
"Nurses dispense comfort, compassion, and caring without even a prescription. " – Val Saintsbury
"Nurse: just another word to describe a person strong enough to tolerate everything and soft enough to understand everyone.”
"Every nurse has that one patient that they’ll remember forever.”
"You didn’t even know me, yet you treated me like family…I’ll never forget that. Thank you.”
"I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse." – Florence Nightingale
"I’m a nurse because miracle worker isn’t an official title.”
"The character of the nurse is as important as the knowledge she possesses.” – Carolyn Jarvis
"Nurses are the heart of healthcare." – Donna Wilk Cardillo
I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I am telling you it’s going to be worth it. – Art Williams
"I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions which bring results." - Florence Nightingale
"Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen everyday." – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
"To do what nobody else will do, in a way that nobody else can, in spite of all we go through; it to be a nurse.” - Rawsi Williams
"Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, a touch that never hurts." – Charles Dickens
"When you’re a nurse you know that every day you will touch a life or a life will touch yours.”
"Where the needs of the world and your talents cross, there lies your vocation." – Aristotle
"Save one life, you’re a hero. Save a hundred lives, you’re a nurse.”
"Being a nurse means to hold all your own tears and start drawing smiles on people’s faces. Nursing is sacrificing.” – Dana Basem
"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts." – Winston Churchill
“Okay, tell me exactly what happened” is not the same as “Okay, tell me your life story.”
"Nurses: one of the few blessings of being ill." – Sara Moss-Wolfe
"Let us never consider ourselves finished, nurses…we must be learning all of our lives." – Florence Nightingale
"A nurse will always give us hope, an angel with a stethoscope." – Carrie Latet
"Caring is the essence of nursing." – Jean Watson
Funny Nurse Quotes
"Don’t mess with me, I get paid to stab people with sharp objects.”
"You think Mondays are bad? Try working weekends, holidays, and 12 hour shifts!”
"Be nice to me… I may be your nurse someday and remember…catheters and needles come in sizes that I choose!”
"May your cup runneth over, unless it’s that urine specimen cup you’re trying to hand me.”
"I’m a nurse, nothing scares me.”
"Shift change is my favorite time of day.”
"If you ever want to get punched in the throat by a nurse, say the words 'it sure is quiet around here’ in the middle of their shift!”
"No, I will not rub your feet. I am a nurse, not a masseur.”
"Yes, I am a nurse and no, I don’t want to look at it.”
"I’m sure it’s a surprise but as your nurse, I’d like to inform you that the big ‘H’ you saw in the front of this building does NOT mean ‘Hilton’.”
"I’ve been a nurse for so long that I triage my laundry and have decided that none of it requires immediate attention.”
"Remember, I'm a nurse. You're going to have to say a lot to gross me out.”
