Nurses Give Themselves a Party and a Little Overdue Respect

They tend to a patient’s every need: feeding them, helping them deal with physical pain, flushing out their bedpans.

But when it comes to receiving credit, nurses often play second fiddle to the high-paid doctors.

So on Wednesday, the nurses at Ventura County Medical Center threw themselves a bash as part of National Nurses Week, having saved money from their numerous bake sales and luncheons.

“We threw ourselves a party because we’re proud of what we do,” said nurse and party organizer Maureen Martinez.

The mariachi band Los Coyotes played away, while the nurses nibbled on sliced carrots and cucumbers and chomped down the mini-tacos and burritos.

“It’s really nice,” said nurse Sharon Palmer about the party. “It’s nice to be appreciated.”

Obstetrics nurse Sharon Madonna agreed, saying, “Sometimes we work really hard and they think about the doctors and forget about us. The doctors are there during labor, but we’re there afterward cleaning up the mess and staying there the whole time with the patients. They say, ‘Thank you doctor. Thank you doctor.’

“Well what am I,” Madonna asked, “a lump of clay?” County Supervisor Kathy Long, who attended the party, agreed that recognition for nurses is long overdue.

“The nurses are the ones in the trenches and do the real good, hard, caring work for the hospital,” Long said. “They’re the Florence Nightingales. There’s no question.”