May 6, 2025
By Lucy Cardona
Editor
Getting care at a doctor’s office or hospital can be nerve-racking, but nurses help to make these challenging situations bearable. That is why every year on May 6, National Nurses Day, people can take time to celebrate the nurses who have helped them.
School nurse Ms. Schlameuss said that in her youth, there were a lot of nurses she looked up to.
“They were really good, and I wanted to be like them,” Schlameuss said. “They were very experienced, very smart and [advanced] in their career…. They just knew so much [and] had confidence to say what they know.”
There are around 4.3 million nurses in the United States, according to a report published by the Bureau Health Workforce in 2022. Around 140,000 nurses work in New Jersey, according to the New Jersey government’s official website.
Schlameuss said nursing is a fulfilling but stressful profession.
“Being short-staffed [has] always been an issue with nursing, and in retention, [nurses often] don’t stay anywhere [long because of] the demands of the job,” Schlameuss said.
Sophomore Taylor Paglio said she aspires to become a labor and delivery nurse.
“Giving birth is such a beautiful experience. I know there are some negatives to it, but I think that it is a great experience for mothers,” Paglio said. “A nurse can really change the experience, so I want to be there [to help].”
She said her mother, a nurse at Lyndhurst Middle School and former per diem nurse at Hackensack University Medical Center, influenced her to take an interest in nursing.
“She has always prepared for emergencies and she helps to teach me,” Paglio said
English teacher Miss Rendzia said the nursing staff at The Valley Hospital in Paramus was vital in her treatment and recovery during the three weeks she spent in their care over the past two years.
“They were phenomenal. There wasn’t one nurse that you would have any complaints about,” Rendzia said.
She said they took care of her before, during and after surgery, putting in her IV, giving her medicine and tending to all of her needs.
“A nurse can really change the experience, so I want to be there [to help].”
“They are there to oversee what the doctor orders…. However, there is a lot of comforting involved, there’s a big compassionate element,” Rendzia said.
She said, especially amid a nursing shortage, it is important to show appreciation to nurses.
“Most of the nurses that I dealt with were very young. Because there is a burnout, they can’t keep up that pace,” Rendzia said.
She said National Nurses Day deserves more attention.
“For some people who are literally saving your life… I think it falls through the cracks,” Rendzia said. “Anybody who has spent time in a hospital knows the importance of a nurse.”
