The nursing field can offer many challenges, from long hours and staffing shortages to emotionally exhausting and often dangerous work environments. As a result, nurse leaders and hospital administrators must strive to find ways to boost morale among their nursing staff, especially during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nurses across the country are working long shifts in dangerous, high-pressure environments. Many nurses are experiencing exhaustion, fear, isolation, and emotional trauma. This ongoing stress can lead to physical and mental health issues, an inability to provide effective patient care, and even burnout.
It is more important than ever for nursing leaders to keep their teams’ spirits high. Sharing inspirational quotes for nurses is one way to help nurses feel affirmed in their important roles and motivated to continue working.
Inspirational Quotes for Nurses
Nurses, hospital administrators, and nurse leaders can share the following inspirational quotes for nurses with their teams to help boost morale and motivate their nurses. Each quote is from someone who has made a positive impact on the field of healthcare in some way.
“Nursing is an art, and if it is to be made an art, it requires exclusive devotion, as hard a preparation as any painter’s or sculptor’s work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God’s spirit? It is one of the fine arts. I had almost said the finest of fine arts.” — Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale helped establish the nursing field as a profession. Working as a nurse during the Crimean War provided Nightingale with the opportunity to care for many wounded soldiers. Informed by this experience, she helped improve conditions relating to hospital hygiene and sanitation. She later built St. Thomas’ Hospital, as well as the Nightingale Training School for Nurses.
“As a nurse, we have the opportunity to heal the heart, mind, soul, and body of our patients, their families, and ourselves. They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou was an author, poet, memoir writer, and civil rights activist. She had a deep appreciation of nurses and identified with their devotion to caring for others, as she too devoted her life and work to making the world a better place.
“Rejoice in your work; never lose sight of the nursing leader you are now and the nursing leader you will become.” — Sue Fitzsimons
Sue Fitzsimons worked as a registered nurse and earned her PhD before serving as senior vice president of Patient Services and chief nursing officer at Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut.
“Nurses are not just doers. Our work is supported by evidence and guided by theory. We integrate evidence and theory with our knowledge of patients and make important decisions with and for patients and families at the point of care. Research and practice are not separate but integrated. Nursing is a practice discipline with our own theories and research base that we both generate, use, and disseminate to others.” — Antonia Villarruel
Antonia M. Villarruel, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and co-director of the school’s WHO Collaborating Center for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership. As a nurse researcher, she promotes community-based approaches in nursing while working with at-risk individuals from diverse backgrounds and populations. She has held multiple leadership roles with both local and national organizations to promote health equity.
“To do what nobody else will do, a way that nobody else can do, in spite of all we go through — that is to be a nurse.” — Rawsi Williams
As a registered nurse with a PhD and JD, Rawsi Williams works with healthcare professionals, healthcare organizations, and defense attorneys in the areas of medical malpractice, wrongful death, and medical records reviews. She is also the exclusive author of the Certified Long-Term Care Legal Nurse Consultant (CLCLNC) credential.
The Role of Nurses in Healthcare
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3,059,800 registered nurses work across the country. Other healthcare professionals, such as doctors, rely on these nurses to assess patients’ conditions, administer treatments, manage patient records, and monitor patients’ progress. Registered nurses have an irreplaceable role in healthcare, especially those with certain specialties, such as pediatrics, genetics, cardiovascular care, neonatal care, public health, family health, and rehabilitation. It is therefore important for registered nurses to stay motivated and continue devoting themselves to their careers.
Pursue a Master of Science in Nursing
With so many registered nurses across the country, nurse leaders play a significant role in helping these healthcare professionals stay motivated in the workplace. Nurse leaders can help boost their morale by sharing inspirational quotes for nurses with them.
Registered nurses interested in furthering their nursing careers can consider pursuing the Master of Science in Nursing at AdventHealth University Online, which offers an Administration and Leadership track. Nursing students can learn more about how the program can help them pursue rewarding careers in nursing and nurse leadership.
Recommended Readings
Advocating for Nurses With Disabilities
What Do Healthcare Administrators Do?
5 Important Elements to Establish Data Security in Healthcare
Sources:
Blackhawk Network, “23 Employee Motivation Statistics”
Goalcast, “13 Inspirational Florence Nightingale Quotes to Nurse Your Soul”
Incentive Research Foundation
Med + Ed, “The Biggest Causes of Nurse Burnout and What You Can Do”
Nurse Labs, “80 Nurse Quotes to Inspire, Motivate, and Humor Nurses”
Nursing Center, “Inspiration in Nursing: The Secret Sauce of Moving Forward”
Penn LDI, Antonia M. Villarruel
Rawsi Williams Law Group
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Registered Nurses
