FROM THE LABOR AND DELIVERY NURSES
who bring us into the world, to the
palliative care nurses who see us
out of it, the most pivotal moments in our
lives are often shared with a member of
the nursing profession. According to the
American Association of Colleges of Nursing,
the profession is the largest in the health care
setting, with more than 3.8 million registered
nurses nationwide. They are the primary
providers of hospital patient care and deliver
most of the nation’s long-term care.
Yet too often nurses drift in and out of our
sick rooms, quietly and steadfastly doing the
essential work of community care, without
us even knowing their names. Particularly
as we—hopefully!—emerge from the worst of
the COVID-19 pandemic, which has taken an
exhausting toll on everyone in our hospitals,
there’s no better time to put the limelight on
these unsung heroes of health care.
Over the course of several months, we
solicitated nominations for Baltimore’s best
nurses from supervisors, colleagues, and
patients, amassing hundreds of submissions.
The nominations were compiled, divided
by specialty, and given to our panel of eight
eminently qualified nurse advisors who spent
weeks poring over entrants and résumés to
make the final selections . . . in the midst of the
worst of the COVID-19 omicron surge, no less.
In addition, we have an accompanying
story that looks at travel nursing. The travel
nurse field is older than you might imagine,
though it came of age in America for a reason
that might surprise you. Read on to learn
how it has evolved from a career where
nurses could see the world into a sometimes imperfect
solution to chronic nurse shortages
and the pressing need for extra, healthy
nurses during the pandemic.
There are as many as 20,000 nurses in
the Baltimore region, all of whom are doing
critical caregiving. We are truly spoiled for
choice when it comes to having the best of the
best in health care workers on our doorstep.
Here were recognize our gifted nurses—100
in total—while extending a resounding thankyou
to the entire profession.
