Day 18

I wear a badge to work every day. As I work in a hospital, this is not a new phenomenon, for badges have been worn in hospitals for a very long time. But the utilization of badges in other areas has skyrocketed over the last 10 years with the heightened levels of security that unfortunately are needed.

I mean, I graduated high school in 1993, and cannot imagine ever wearing a badge to school- or my teacher wearing one. But high schools commonly have both parties wearing picture IDs around their necks these days.

And think about the market that has exploded for badge holders! We have given them a fancy name- "lanyards", and they are all the rage. From sports themes, to homeade/handmade ones found at festivals, to Vera Bradley and Brighton- we love to personalize our badges to help others get a glimpse of what kind of person is behind the picture on the laminated plastic around their neck.

I don't wear a lanyard with my badge. Mostly, because I already have enough equipment hanging around my neck and it's just one more thing a confused patient can grab ahold of. But also becuase my badge DOES define who I am. Yes, it has my name and picture, along with the name of the facility I work at, but it also has the letters "RN" in huge white letters against a bright red backround.

Again, I can find dual purpose in this addition to my original badge. As a critical care nurse, many times I travel throughout the hospital to help other units in bad situations. And sometimes I am in situations with doctors and other disciplines where we have to work together seamlessly and urgently without ever having met each other before. Having "RN" on my badge allows other to immediately know what role I can provide in a situation, saving precious moments when someone's life is on the line.

But those two letters mean more than most people know. When asked what we do by someone we have just met, rarely will a nurse say, "I'm a Registered Nurse"- they simply state they are a nurse. I never though about it much till this week when a family member asked me what the "R" stood for. I smiled and told her that being "registered" meant I had passed a board examination and was licensed through the Ohio Board of Nursing to practice all that I had learned.

Ugh- the memory of taking that test and studying till 3 in the morning still makes me a little nauseated. Because let me tell you, there was no grade curves or extra credit in nursing school. You got over an 88% ....or you didn't get to move forward. It seemed harsh at the time, especially when it seemed like everyone around you in college was on a different grading scale. But the reality is noone wants a nurse to take care of them who got a 72% !

So I wear that badge with honor and without other things to distract from the core meaning it represents. Some badges don't have names or pictures on them- Police badges, girl scout badges, even letters on a high school jacket. They are symbols, of who we are and what we represent. So I wear mine without other things to distract from the core meaning. Do you wear a badge? If so, don't fall into the trap that many of us do and put it on every day like it was just underwear or some other part of your daily attire. Chances are, you worked hard for it. Wear your symbol...your badge....proudly. Don't let a lanyard define you- let the badge define you.