90 Nursing Quotes: Words of Wisdom for Nurses to Inspire and Motivate

“Save one life, you’re a hero. Save 100 lives, you’re a nurse.”

“A nurse is not what you do. It is what you are. I am a nurse. It’s not what I do, it’s what I am.”

“Nurses are a unique kind. They have this insatiable need to care for others, which is both their greatest strength and fatal flaw. —Jean Watson”

“Constant attention by a good nurse may be just as important as a major operation by a surgeon. —Dag Hammarskjöld”

“A nurse is one who opens the eyes of a newborn and gently closes the eyes of a dying man. It is indeed a high blessing to be the first and last to witness the beginning and end of life.”

“Caring is the essence of nursing. —Jean Watson”

“Nurses dispense comfort, compassion, and caring without even a prescription. —Val Saintsbury”

“Every nurse was drawn to nursing because of a desire to care, to serve, or to help. —Christina Feist-Heilmeier”

“Nurses are there when the last breath is taken, and nurses are there when the first breath is taken. Although it is more enjoyable to celebrate the birth, it is just as important to comfort in death. —Christine Belle”

“The trained nurse has become one of the great blessings of humanity, taking a place beside the physician and the priest. —Dr. William Osler”

“America’s nurses are the beating heart of our medical system. —Barack Obama”

“Nursing is one of the fine arts: I had almost said the finest of fine arts. —Florence Nightingale”

“You treat a disease: you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you win—no matter the outcome. —Robin Williams”

“Our job as nurses is to cushion the sorrow and celebrate the joy, every day, while we are just doing our jobs. —Christine Belle”

“When you’re a nurse, you know that every day you will touch a life or a life will touch yours.”

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway. —Earl Nightingale”

“Forgive yourself; you are not perfect. Show yourself grace; you are still learning. Show yourself patience; you are on a journey.”

“Hardships often prepare people for an extraordinary destiny. —C.S. Lewis”

“To do what nobody else will do, in a way that nobody else can, in spite of all we go through, is to be a nurse. —Rawsi Williams”

“I never dreamed about success—I worked for it. —Estée Lauder”

“Nothing will work unless you do. —Maya Angelou”

“When you feel like quitting, remember why you started.”

“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it. —Art Williams”

“It’s a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together.”

“While that’s correct, it’s not the most correct. This is nursing school.”

“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow. —Anthony J. D’Angelo”

“Apprehension, uncertainty, waiting, expectation, fear of surprise, do a patient more harm than any exertion. —Florence Nightingale”

“Panic plays no part in the training of a nurse. —Elizabeth Kenny”

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.”

“Let us never consider ourselves finished, nurses. We must be learning all of our lives. —Florence Nightingale”

“Value what you do and add value by what you do.”

“If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For passion will lead you right into your purpose. —Bishop T.D. Jakes”

“Nurses—one of the few blessings of being ill. —Sara Moss-Wolfe”

“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. —Ralph Waldo Emerson”

“Sometimes I inspire my patients; more often, they inspire me.”

“Nurse: just another word to describe a person strong enough to tolerate anything and soft enough to understand anyone.”

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. —Mahatma Gandhi”

“Be the nurse you would want as a patient.”

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle. —Plato”

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this something, at whatever cost, must be attained. —Marie Curie”

“Nurses are the heart of healthcare. —Donna Wilk Cardillo”

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. —William Shakespeare”

“The character of the nurse is as important as the knowledge she possesses. —Carolyn Jarvis”

“A nurse will always give us hope, an angel with a stethoscope. —Carrie Latet”

“Happiness consists of giving, and in serving others. —Henry Drummond”

“As a nurse, we have the opportunity to heal the mind, soul, heart, and body of our patients. They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel. —Maya Angelou”

“Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, a touch that never hurts. —Charles Dickens”

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. —Nelson Mandela”

“Treat the patient as a whole, not just the hole in the patient.”

“Just so you know, doctors are here to diagnose, not heal. We heal. —Edie Falco”

“May your scrubs be comfy, your coffee be strong, and your Monday be short.”

“No, RN does not stand for Refreshments and Narcotics.”

“Yes, I am a nurse. No, I don’t want to look at it.”

“Don’t mess with me—I get paid to stab people with sharp objects.”

“Hand sanitizer has started to become your best friend.”

“How can anybody hate nurses? Nobody hates nurses. The only time you hate a nurse is when they’re giving you an enema. —Warren Beatty”

“I’m a nurse. What’s your superpower?”

“I’ve come to the realization that I’ll touch anything as long as I have gloves on.”

“Nursing is not a career, it’s a post-apocalyptic survival skill.”

“You know you work in healthcare when you can discuss puke and bowel movements at the lunch table and no one flinches.”

“Remember, I’m a nurse. You’re going to have to say a lot to gross me out.”

“Sometimes I have to remind myself around my non-nurse friends not to talk about bodily functions.”

“I’m a nurse because miracle worker isn’t an official title.”

“Work for a cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress. Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your presence felt. —Grace Lichtenstein”

“Fill your mind with truth. Fill your heart with love. Fill your life with service. —Vaughn J. Featherstone”

“It is not how much you do, but how much love you put in the doing. —Mother Teresa”

“Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on Earth to do with such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling. —Vincent Van Gogh”

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. —Dr. Seuss”

“I attribute my success to this; I never gave nor took any excuse. —Florence Nightingale”

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

“Success comes to those who are too busy to look for it. —Henry David Thoreau”

“When I think about all the patients and their loved ones I have worked with over the years, I know most of them don’t remember me, nor I, them. But I do know that I gave a little piece of myself to each of them, and they to me, and those threads make up the tapestry that is my career in nursing. —Donna Wilk Cardillo”

“There no longer has to be a difference between who you are and what you do. —Gary Vaynerchuk”

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. The only way to do great work is to love what you do. —Steve Jobs”

“We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated. —Maya Angelou”

“So never lose an opportunity of urging a practical beginning, however small, for it is wonderful how often in such matters the mustard-seed germinates and roots itself. —Florence Nightingale”

“How very little can be done under the spirit of fear. —Florence Nightingale”

“Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings. —Salvador Dali”

“I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions which bring results. —Florence Nightingale”

“Although your educational journey may be difficult at times, you will reap the reward of utmost satisfaction when holding your nursing diploma for the first time—and nothing will ever compare to the fulfillment that improving and saving the lives of others will bring! —Mikhail Shneyder”

“Nursing is one of the fine arts: I had almost said the finest of fine arts. —Florence Nightingale”

“Apprehension, uncertainty, waiting, expectation, fear of surprise, do a patient more harm than any exertion. —Florence Nightingale”

“Let us never consider ourselves finished, nurses. We must be learning all of our lives. —Florence Nightingale”

“I attribute my success to this; I never gave nor took any excuse. —Florence Nightingale”

“So never lose an opportunity of urging a practical beginning, however small, for it is wonderful how often in such matters the mustard-seed germinates and roots itself. —Florence Nightingale”

“How very little can be done under the spirit of fear. —Florence Nightingale”

“I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions which bring results. —Florence Nightingale”

“Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better. —Florence Nightingale”

“Live life when you have it. Life is a splendid gift—there is nothing small about it. —Florence Nightingale”

“The very first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm. —Florence Nightingale”