I heard the most beautiful thing today.

I was talking to a new nurse we hired. He just started orientation this week. He has great experience, and in addition has a certificate in acupuncture and specializes in chinese medicine. In other words, he blends traditional and non-traditional/holistic medicine.

I said that he reminded me a lot of another nurse that works there, in that he too is meticulous about following protocol, policies and procedures correctly.

He said, "Nursing is a blanket of care that we cover our patients with. "(as he said this, he moved his hands out, as if he were gently placing this soft blanket on someone) He continued "Protocol is how we smooth the blanket out, and to tuck them in." (again, while saying this, his hands made smoothing and gentle tucking gestures).

I shared this with some other nurses I highly respect, and they both felt touched.

Later, I thought how this applies to any act of caring. It's not just doing something "nice", but following through to make sure it's done correctly.