The patient and his wife held hands, locked in intimate conversation. Through the small window into the hospital room, the couple looked like a tragic scene from a silent 1920s film. His eyes traced the lines of her face. Her brow held a tension that belied the tears she was holding back. 

But a team of nurses walked in without so much as a knock. No permission seeking. Not even an acknowledgment of the sacred ground they were stepping onto. It was shift change, and there were tasks to be completed. Never mind the struggle for life and death playing out right in front of them.

The difference between a professional and a technician is the nuanced contentiousness a professional weaves into their service delivery. Professionalism is a human skills competency. There’s no amount of pathophysiology, IV skills, or memorized assessment tools that can make you a professional. 

Nursing is a profession, but some nurses insist on behaving like technicians.