December 1999 577

ImpressionsSection Editor: Susan Moore, RN, MS, CCRN, CEN

Martha Wood is Staff Nurse, Emergency Department, PhilipsburgArea Hospital, Philipsburg, Pa.For reprints, write: Martha Wood, RN, CEN, RD #3, Box 153A,Philipsburg, PA 16866.J Emerg Nurs 1999;25:577.Copyright © 1999 by the Emergency Nurses Association.0099-1767/99 $8.00 + 0 18/9/101861

Why we do what we doAuthor: Martha Wood, RN, CEN, Philipsburg, Pa

Why do we get up at 5 AM for work ornot go to bed until the sun comes up andeveryone else is thinking about how tospend the nice day?

WHY

do we get spat upon and dumped upon in more waysthan one,

vomited on, or maybe even flung into a wall, thencome back for another shift?

WHY

do we hold our breath for evaluations,worrying that we are not perfect?

WHY

do we put our husbands and children on holdso we can go from crisis to crisis?

MAYBE

so we can do something we can be proud of

OR

so we can look at ourselves in the mirror

OR

because it’s what we love.