"Let me tell you about being a nurse".

With the nursing shortage at crisis proportions, human resource directors and headhunters are working overtime to find creative ways to draw more women and men into our profession. But let's not forget the most powerful tool of all: ourselves. By role-modeling competent, compassionate nursing care, we're our own best recruiters.

The cathedral within.

Few nurses get excited about working on Christmas. As dedicated as we are to our patients and coworkers, we yearn to be home for the holiday. Yet, as so often happens in nursing, we receive unexpected blessings when we answer the call to duty, as this nurse's story shows.

Fish story.

We've all heard the expression "laughter is the best medicine." Over the years, scientific evidence has corroborated the therapeutic value of laughter, which has been shown to lower BP and heart rate, improve lung capacity, improve memory and alertness, reduce pain, aid digestion, and lower levels of stress hormones.But during a hectic workday, as we witness the worries and sufferings of others, we often forget to laugh.

The depth of this career.

Young nurses have a lot to learn from us older ones--and vice versa. We need to mentor each other and build each other up, not bring each other down. Let's stop the complaining and negative talk at work--the "stinkin' thinkin'.

Jack.

As nurses work longer hours with less staff to care for sicker patients, our profession has become more stressful than ever. Sometimes we leave work with hearts as achy as our feet. This nurse's story reminds us of what makes it all worthwhile: our patients and their families.

Sharing our stories.

HOW MANY TIMES over the years have nurses exclaimed, "I could write a book!"? Well now, together, we have. Nurses from all over the world contributed their stories to Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul and the recently released Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul, Second Dose. In this new department, I'll share some of these stories with you-real anecdotes about the challenges and joys of being a nurse.