Nurses unite

It's kind of funny when you think about it. About three million of the nation's most trusted profession labor in relative obscurity day in and day out.

All of a sudden a bunch of ladies on morning talk show get catty about the Miss America pageant. They diss a nurse AND boom! Social media mayhem!

It probably wasn't a good idea. You know, pissing off the people who wipe your backside when you're ill and can't, who make sure you don't lie in that excrement and get contact dermatitis, or worse, a pressure ulcer (since if you can't clean yourself up, you may not move either) is not a good thing.

So in light of some of the nurses who proclaimed nursing as their talents, here's mine (minus the video).

You know, I've been you. I've been on the outside. I've wondered, "How in the heck can someone say nursing is a talent?" Nursing requires a lot of skill. You have to know what you are doing to keep people alive, perform procedures and to document a lot of stuff, so your hospital gets paid.

But alas, after more than a decade living in the "real world" a couple of nurses said, "You know, you ought to think about being a nurse." And after having a kid, going to business school and working in the business world, I thought, "Why not?" So I went to nursing school and learned skills and went out, got a license and started on my way. And by the way, nursing school was a LOT harder than business school!

However, on the floors and in the rehab centers, you find out skills will only take you so far. Anyone can get skills. You have to put it all together and hustle and some days, when all the planets align, the supplies are there, everyone is on time to therapy, you high five and patients are happy. And other days, no one wants to get up, important stuff is missing, patients crash, you are exhausted and you cry.

Handling it all with grace, compassion and all those skills really is a talent. Because we're not taking care of a balance sheet, we're taking care of people.

So yes, after almost a decade as a nurse, I'm ready to say, nursing really is my talent, too.

Kelley Johnson: I'm with you--stethoscope, scrubs and all. No matter what our costume may be, providing excellent, clinically competent care as a caring nurse is a part of the ensemble that's never out of style.