---
title: "Nurse Leader Reflects on Gratitude for Nurses Week | Sutter Health"
description: "A chief nurse administrator at Sutter's Eden Medical Center shares reflections on gratitude, hard-won wins and the emotional highs and lows of a nursing career."
url: "https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/perspectives/nurse-leader-reflects-on-nurses-week"
---

1.  [Home](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/) /
2.  [Perspectives](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/perspectives) /
3.  Nurse Leader Reflects On Nurses Week

# Nurse Leader Reflects on Nurses Week

A chief nurse administrator at Sutter's Eden Medical Center shares reflections on gratitude, hard-won wins and the emotional highs and lows of a nursing career.

May 4, 2023 by Ashley Boarman

![Nurse Leader Reflects on Nurses Week](https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/sutterhealt962c-sutterhealt8fce-production57cc-4860/media/Project/SutterHealth/Vitals/perspectives/GettyImages-1346227626-c1ae76ce.jpg?h=1414&iar=0&w=2121 "National Nurses Week honors nurses’ contributions and sacrifices and reminds us to thank these medical professionals who help keep us healthy. It is celebrated between May 6, National Nurses Day, and May 12, the birthdate of celebrated nurse Florence Nightingale.")

_**By Jonathan Judy Del Rosario, chief nurse administrator Sutter’s Eden Medical Center**_

As nurses, we love the wins. It’s the best feeling to see our patients improve and leave the hospital, knowing that we impacted their care.

That sense of betterment and healing is often what got us interested in the profession in the first place—and what sustains us as time marches on. It’s what helped us through the long months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Any nurse will tell you that there’s a push and pull to this profession. We put a lot of ourselves into our jobs. We also get a lot back in return.

This Nurses Week, I’m reminded of the heartfelt gratitude that my nurse colleagues and I are so fortunate to experience.

From a thankful patient’s spouse expressing appreciation for something that is “just my job,” to a fellow colleague who takes the time to recognize another for helping out, expressions of gratitude are never in short supply.

Prior to my journey into hospital administration at Sutter’s Eden Medical Center, I had a fulfilling career as a critical care nurse practitioner at Sutter’s California Pacific Medical Center.

![Gentleman with a short haircut is wearing a pink collared shirt with a green background.](https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/sutterhealt962c-sutterhealt8fce-production57cc-4860/media/Project/SutterHealth/Vitals/perspectives/Jonathan-Judy-7a50ba8d.jpg "Jonathan Judy Del Rosario")

During my eight years in this role, I worked alongside transplant teams caring for patients with end-stage organ failure. It was a dynamic workplace.

The adrenaline rush of initiating life-saving measures when these patients first arrived.

The sadness the care team felt as we learned recovery was not an option.

The sorrow and grief as family and loved ones said their last goodbyes.

In parallel, there would be excitement in the air as the surgeon would notify their patient that an organ had been identified.

Or hearing a nervous patient joking with family while waiting to be wheeled into the operating room.

The recipient waking up from surgery to hear everything had gone as planned.

It is hard work, both physically and mentally.

Yet while nurses, like those I’ve worked with at Sutter Health, dedicate a significant portion of their lives to others, they are often on the receiving end of immense gratitude.

Embrace it. Be comfortable with it.

Feeling thankful can be a force for good in our lives, and practicing gratitude has incredible effects, from improving mental health to bolstering our inner selves.

What’s more, the positivity that flows from gratitude can ripple across whole teams, boosting and strengthening them.

Leading with gratitude sets us up for success—for ourselves, for our patients, and for one other.

So, I say to nurses at Sutter Health and to nurses everywhere this week, I am grateful for you.

I am grateful to be a nurse!

## Transplant

When organ failure changes your life, the right care can give you a second chance. If you're facing a transplant, our specialists can provide evaluation, surgery and lifelong follow-up support.

[Learn more about Transplant](https://www.sutterhealth.org/services/transplant)

## Related articles

### [Sister’s Gift Represents Transplant First at Sutter Health](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/patient-stories/sisters-gift-represents-transplant-first-at-sutter-health)

### [Transforming Lives Through Transplant Innovation](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/research-innovation/transforming-lives-through-transplant-innovation)

### [$12M Gift Fuels Transplant Innovation at CPMC](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/media-resources/press-releases/12m-gift-fuels-transplant-innovation-at-cpmc)

### [Chicoan Gets New Lungs After 120 Days on Novel Life Support](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/patient-stories/chicoan-gets-new-lungs-after-120-days-on-novel-life-support)

[See all from Perspectives](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/perspectives)

## Check your Vitals

Get the latest in health innovation, community impact and patient care from Sutter Health — delivered straight to your inbox.

[Subscribe to Vitals](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/subscribe)

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Sutter Health","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org","logo":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/static/images/sutter-health-logo.svg","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"2200 River Plaza Drive","addressLocality":"Sacramento","addressRegion":"CA","postalCode":"95833","addressCountry":"US"},"areaServed":{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"California"},"sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/SutterHealth","https://www.instagram.com/sutterhealth/","https://x.com/SutterHealth","https://www.youtube.com/sutterhealth","https://www.linkedin.com/company/sutter-health","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter_Health"]}
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","name":"Nurse Leader Reflects on Gratitude for Nurses Week","description":"A chief nurse administrator at Sutter's Eden Medical Center shares reflections on gratitude, hard-won wins and the emotional highs and lows of a nursing career.","url":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/perspectives/nurse-leader-reflects-on-nurses-week","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/perspectives/nurse-leader-reflects-on-nurses-week#breadcrumblist"}}
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/perspectives/nurse-leader-reflects-on-nurses-week#article","url":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/perspectives/nurse-leader-reflects-on-nurses-week","headline":"Nurse Leader Reflects on Gratitude for Nurses Week","description":"A chief nurse administrator at Sutter's Eden Medical Center shares reflections on gratitude, hard-won wins and the emotional highs and lows of a nursing career.","articleSection":"Perspectives","inLanguage":"en-US","datePublished":"2023-05-04T08:35:18-07:00","dateModified":"2026-09-14T16:45:42-07:00","author":[{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Boarman"}],"publisher":{"@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Sutter Health","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org"},"abstract":"A chief nurse administrator at Sutter's Eden Medical Center shares reflections on gratitude, hard-won wins and the emotional highs and lows of a nursing career.","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/sutterhealt962c-sutterhealt8fce-production57cc-4860/media/Project/SutterHealth/Vitals/perspectives/GettyImages-1346227626-c1ae76ce.jpg?h=1414&iar=0&w=2121","width":"2121","height":"1414","caption":"National Nurses Week honors nurses’ contributions and sacrifices and reminds us to thank these medical professionals who help keep us healthy. It is celebrated between May 6, National Nurses Day, and May 12, the birthdate of celebrated nurse Florence Nightingale."},"thumbnailUrl":"https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/sutterhealt962c-sutterhealt8fce-production57cc-4860/media/Project/SutterHealth/Vitals/perspectives/GettyImages-1346227626-c1ae76ce.jpg?h=1414&iar=0&w=2121","isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/#website","name":"Vitals - Sutter Health","url":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org"},"mainEntityOfPage":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/perspectives/nurse-leader-reflects-on-nurses-week","about":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"Transplant"}],"mentions":[{"@type":"Hospital","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/find-location/facility/eden-medical-center-1043246538#hospital","name":"Sutter Eden Medical Center","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/find-location/facility/eden-medical-center-1043246538"},{"@type":"Hospital","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/find-location/facility/cpmc-van-ness-campus-1043247265#hospital","name":"CPMC Van Ness Campus","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/find-location/facility/cpmc-van-ness-campus-1043247265"}]}
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/perspectives/nurse-leader-reflects-on-nurses-week#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Perspectives","item":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/perspectives"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Nurse Leader Reflects On Nurses Week"}]}
```