A Salute!

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“Land of the free and home of the brave.”¹ How many times have you sung those words? Have you ever stopped to think of the enormity of their meaning?

Recently, I was reminded of the reality of that message. I attended the New Jersey ENA Emergency Care Conference and was invited to attend the State Council meeting that first evening. NJENA holds a sit-down dinner meeting at roundtables. They conduct business and deliver reports and updates. This year was unusual and special at the same time. Their State Council President is Gwyn Parris-Atwell, RN, MSN, FNP-C, CS, CEN, an Air Force Nurse, emergency nurse and a dedicated, engaged ENA member. She was very much looking forward to fulfilling her dream of being NJ State President when, unexpectedly, she received word that she was being activated and deployed to Iraq. She deployed a day or two before she became president. However, thanks to the modern miracle of Internet communication, Gwyn joined the meeting via Skype from her unit in Iraq. I guess you had to be there to appreciate the intensity of the moment. The image of her in desert camouflage uniform was projected onto a large screen as she addressed the group, and then I heard her call my name. She made two presentations: one to the NJENA and one to the national ENA. My hands were shaking as I stood to receive the offering. It was a flag that had flown over her unit in Iraq. It was folded in military fashion and lovingly placed into a shadow box with a glass display front. Along with her name and the title “2010 New Jersey ENA President,” the plaque attached to the front read, “To ENA. Thanks for all your support.” There were not too many dry eyes in the room that evening. Here was Gwyn, emergency nurse, NJENA State President, caring for wounded in Iraq, yet thinking of us back home. She thanked everyone for their packages, cards and e-mails.

For a moment, we were all distracted from thinking about the everyday stressors of emergency nursing. For a moment we were all part of a higher calling, a larger sacrifice and a more somber mission. I left New Jersey a few days later resolving to be braver and to give more support to our military.

Emergency nurses by their nature are brave. They see things every day that “civilians” won't even talk about. And, they, like their EMS and firefighter colleagues, walk toward the danger and the crisis when others are walking away. Emergency nurses stand on the front line to receive the critically injured trauma patient, the seriously emergent chest pain patient, and the gravely ill stroke patient. But more than that, emergency nurses stand ready to care for and protect their patients from a wide range of life-threatening communicable diseases. They keep violent patients safe in spite of the risk to themselves. They volunteer to travel to places far from home to help others fight the ravaging effects of hurricanes, tornadoes and other disasters. They face today's health care challenges of crowding, boarding, nursing and physician shortages, regulatory policies, and a system in crisis. Then, no matter how stressful the shift, they come back again to do it over another day. These are the nurses who volunteer to serve in our military. They come from a part of us.

As we continue to fight in two wars, I hope that you will remember those brave women and men who fight for our freedom (my son, Peter, among them) and the military nurses who stand on that other front line to deliver the very best of emergency care to them. As we continue to celebrate ENA's 40th anniversary I ask you to celebrate our brave military nurses. And, I celebrate all of you, on the front line of emergency care in this “land of the free.” You are the brave.

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Reference 

1. Key FS. Defence of Fort McHenry. 1814;
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