Last month the AMSN Board of Directors made the very difficult decision to change the format of our annual convention from hybrid (in-person and virtual) to all virtual.

As you’ve likely heard, AMSN made the difficult decision to hold its annual convention fully virtually this year for the second year in a row. It was a difficult decision and one the Board of Directors didn’t take lightly.

As Medical-Surgical Nurses, we know how important it is to teach our patients the importance of taking care of themselves, but often that same knowledge does not translate into action for taking care of our own individual health and well-being. Nursing can be a very rewarding and stressful job at the same time, which can impact our health.

In nursing school, most of us recall learning about Florence Nightingale, known as the "Lady with the Lamp," and all of her efforts to improve sanitation, healthcare reform through education, and advance the nursing profession.

I'm a genderqueer and in a same birth sex marriage.  Yes, I still have the competency and the skill to be your nurse.  My gender identity plays no part in my ability to save your life or notify the doctor of a critical clinical change.

It certainly is disheartening and maddening to see the fourth COVID wave marching through our communities, our towns and cities, and our states, not to mention other areas of the globe.

It is not uncommon that most of the new nurses in hospitals right now are new graduates. They are experiencing their first few weeks out of nursing school and learning to practice in the real world. After 20 years of being a nurse, I still remember my first few months as a brand new nurse caring for patients on a medical-surgical unit.

Leadership, is finding solutions despite the obstacles. And I know you are all leaders. I know it because you’re nurses. You lead in many aspects of your professional and personal lives. You advocate for others on a daily basis.

When I think about what I like most about being a medical-surgical nurse, I find myself pondering the simple things. Those times, I share a laugh with my patient, helping a patient understand how to take their medication, or connecting my patient to a community resource when they call for help after discharge

By Antoinette Falker, DNP, RN, GCNS-BC, CMSRN. Oftentimes, the biases seem to exist outside of the sphere of healthcare. However, the reality is that it is ever-present in healthcare and negatively affects the people to whom we provide care.