Nurses Week 2016: A Message From Our Dean

Fellow nurses: Two news items crossed my computer screen recently that frame our opportunities and challenges during Nursing Week. The first was recognition that Washington State is one of the top ranked states for nurses to work in. The second was the CDC announcement that medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US. The tension between these—that our jobs are rich, challenging and rewarding and that as the largest health care profession we are not adequately protecting the patients who are the focus and reason for our work—represents our future. Nurses’ week is a call to remember both of these. For me it is also a moment to pause and thank those many nurses at all levels of the profession on whose shoulders we stand. We should pledge to them and to each other to continue pushing our profession forward in ways that honor and support our lives as human being and citizens while we also recommit ourselves to the lives in our care.