Nursing Quotes: 80 Nurse Quotes to Inspire & Humor (2024)

Need some inspiration? Enjoy these inspirational nurse quotes written by famous nursing personalities and that ever famous “anonymous”. Take time to read and experience the potential and influence of nursing through these inspirational and funny nursing quotes! Sometimes, all we need is a little dose of inspiration to keep rolling.

There is no doubt that Nursing is still one of the most inspiring and fulfilling careers ever created. However, we also know that some of us do not feel fulfilled being a nurse all day at work. Discouragement, disappointment, failure, and setbacks—these are all things that we have to deal with at some points in our lives.

Working as a nurse means signing up to a life that barely pauses. While nurses are strong and hopeful people, challenging times frequent and nurses find themselves exhausted and needing encouragements to pick them up.

Read on to experience the influence of nursing through these inspirational nurse quotes. But remember, they mean nothing without actions and progress.

Little Things and Their Huge Impacts

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest accomplishment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Leo Buscaglia

Feeling small, stagnant, and irrelevant? If you feel like what you are contributing to this world is not significant, remember that your work as a nurse is essential in making this world feel like home especially for people needing refuge.

For every shoulder tap that you have made, a person’s confidence is fuelled. For every smile you gave, another heart did a backward somersault of reassurance. For a kind word and a listening ear, another soul felt understood and validated. Imagine the magnitude of your work if you continue and meet more people. In this world where doubts cripple hopes and dreams, your smallest act of caring provides an avenue for the breakthrough of people’s decision in reaching their fullest potential.

Still feeling small? Continue reading.

You Were Called

“Way back before you were born, God knew there was a need. So God picked your fertile heart and planted a caring seed. Then He waited and He watched. Knowing before too long, the desire in you to help others would continue to grow strong.” – Edwin C. Hofert, The Calling

Oftentimes we hear that nursing is more of a calling than a profession. As nursing students, we don’t realize the weight of this statement. But as we go through our nursing journey, pieces stick themselves together, and we realize this probably might be true to some extent. We were called into this mission.

For some reasons, if you feel like this is not the place where you will bloom, consider thinking that even your destiny was set for you to be a nurse. Spend some time considering this thought because a heart where the caring seed was planted will always find a field where it can spread its yield.

A Warm Invitation to Care for the Sick

“Nurses are the hospitality of the hospital.” - Anonymous — “Nurses are the hospitality of the hospital.” – Anonymous

Even before nurses’ touch soothe the sick, the sight of nurses in comfortable scrubs or in white uniforms create a sense of warmth that enveloped the weary, anxious, and grieving. This communicates assurance that they will be given attention, listened to, and be cared for like family. Having this effect on people is something that is extremely important in times of crises. Would you wish for a superpower other than this?

Nurse Quote for Student Nurses

“Who inspires me to be a nurse? Every nurse who doesn’t turn their back on nursing students, or graduate nurses, every nurse who acknowledges it’s okay and simply human to make foolish mistakes, every nurse who takes a moment of their time to help when you’re scared, and every nurse who remembers what it’s like to be a beginner.” – Anonymous Nurse

Nursing involves technical skills. On top of that, you have to master a lot of health concepts to be an effective nurse. If you are a novice nurse and have recently made mistakes that cost you a fractured self-esteem, remember that every expert started off with foolish mistakes which shaped them into who they are now. You will be like them eventually if you continue despite your doubts and weaknesses. You will grow if you just hang on. Don’t deprive yourself of a chance to be better!

Don’t Feel Special Enough?

“Nursing is an art: and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter’s or sculptor’s work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God’s spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts: I had almost said the finest of Fine Arts.” - Florence Nightingale

The founder of modern nursing has got something big to say to nurses out there who feel they are not special enough. If this does not make you feel like you were born with great skills and talent, we might need a battalion of nurse theorists to convince that who you are and what you do matter. You are important and you are needed.

Comfort for the Belittled

nurse quote on “Remember: nurses are like icebergs. At any one time, you are only seeing what they are actually doing.” – Ian Miller — “Remember: nurses are like icebergs. At any one time, you are only seeing what they are actually doing.” – Ian Miller

Snide remarks about how nurses are regarded as ‘just nurses’ or ‘doctors’ assistants’ may never escape stereotypes. However, it is what you do to help your patients that should matter. It should be enough to keep you big and glowing.

Take time to sit with people and explain what it is that you do and you get surprised looks from them. They don’t know how nurses miss family occasions because more people need them to be at the hospital. They don’t know the number of times we have sacrificed meals just because someone out there needs more urgent nourishment. They don’t know how we became families for those who were left neglected in hospital beds. We do all of these and so much more while we document, refer, and monitor the technical aspects of health.

So the next time someone belittled you, wear your title proudly and dismiss it with a shrug of your shoulders. Ignorant remarks should be left rolling at your back and stomped on by other nurses who continue to march for the profession despite being not celebrated.

No Capes But Excellent Lifesavers

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

Nurses are trained to think quickly and act accurately. This makes nurses the people’s superheroes. As one quote says, God gathered the strongest men and women and made them nurses. You can swell with love and pride now.

Nurse Quote on loving your craft

“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. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle.” - Steve Jobs — “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. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” – Steve Jobs

Find it in your heart to continuously reflect on your journey as a nurse. It is completely normal to have doubts and change of heart but don’t give up the nursing profession without some heavy thinking. You are allowed to pause and break down but never forget to find reasons why you should hold on tight to your craft.

For All the Healthcare Workers

To all our healthcare workers fighting this pandemic, we honor you!

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

Duchess of Cambridge on Nurses

Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, praised nurses at the launch of the Nursing Now campaign.

“Nurses are always there, you care for us from the earliest years. You look after us in our happiest and saddest times. And for many, you look after us and our families at the end of our lives. Your dedication and professionalism are awe-inspiring.”

Pope Francis’ Appreciation for Nurses

His Holiness Pope Francis, addressing a meeting of nurses:

Being in contact with physicians and family members, in addition to the sick, you become, in hospitals, in healthcare facilities and in homes, the crossroads of a thousand relationships, which require attention, competence and compassion. Before the uniqueness of each situation, indeed, it is never enough to follow a protocol, but a constant (and tiresome) effort of discernment and attention to the individual person is required. All this makes your profession a veritable mission and makes you ‘experts in humanity.

Genuinely Supporting Nurses this Pandemic

How to truly support nurses this pandemic.

“And the whole rhetoric around heroism and being an angel because you are a nurse I find unhelpful,” said Nicki Credland, and expert nurse. “We’re not angels, we’re not heroes, we are human beings that have chosen a career, that are highly educated, that work in a patient safety-critical profession, who simply want to go and do the job that we trained to do and be protected to do it.”

Another Hilarious Nurses Week Quote

It’s true! To survive this profession you need a sick sense of humor.

A noble profession requiring a twisted sense of humor and the ability to no longer have a gag reflex!

Nurses: Great Blessings of Humanity

People often think that nursing is just an easier alternative to becoming a doctor. When can we escape from this? Probably not, and that’s beyond our control. But this irrational assumption has proved nothing through the years. It only motivated nurses from showing the world their worth and how much of a difference nursing makes.

nurse quote #1 The trained nurse has become one of the great blessings of humanity, taking a place beside the physician and the priest.... – William Osler

No Prescriptions Needed!

Nurses dispense comfort, compassion, and caring without even a prescription. – Val Saintsbury

Making a Difference in Someone’s Life

One of the best nurse quote I’ve read: “When you’re a nurse you know that every day you will touch a life or a life will touch yours.”

nurse quote #3 When you’re a nurse you know that every day you will touch a life or a life will touch yours. – Author Unknown

‘Patient’ people, yes we are!

Nurses are patient people. – Author Unknown

Difference every day!

Nurses don’t wait until October to celebrate Make a Difference Day — they make a difference every day! – Author Unknown

Caring: Biggest Strength and Fatal Flaw

Nurses are a unique kind. They have this insatiable need to care for others, which is both their biggest strength and fatal flaw. – Dr. Jean Watson

nurse quoets #6 Nurses are a unique kind. They have this insatiable need to care for others, which is both their biggest strength and fatal flaw. – Dr. Jean Watson

Nurses: Foundation of Healthcare

You don’t build a house without its foundation. You don’t build a hospital without its Nurses. – Anonymous

Nursing Through Lifetimes

You’re going to be there when a lot of people are born, and when a lot of people die. In most every culture, such moments are regarded as sacred and private, made special by a divine presence. No one on Earth would be welcomed, but you’re personally invited. What an honor that is. – Thom Dick

#8 You’re going to be there when a lot of people are born, and when a lot of people die. In most every culture, such moments are regarded as sacred and private, made special by a divine presence. No one on Earth would be welcomed, but you’re personally invited. What an honor that is. – Thom Dick

They’ll never forget how you made them feel

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

#9 As a nurse, we have the opportunity to heal the heart, mind, soul and body of our patients, their families and ourselves. They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel. – Maya Angelou

The beginning of practice

Diagnosis is not the end, but the beginning of practice. – Martin H. Fischer

Art and Science of Nursing

Nursing is not just an ART, it has a heART. Nursing is not just a SCIENCE, but it has a conSCIENCE – Anonymous

Nursing is not for everyone

Nursing is not for everyone. It takes a very strong, intelligent, and compassionate person to take on the ills of the world with passion and purpose and work to maintain the health and well-being of the planet. No wonder we’re exhausted at the end of the day! – Donna Wilk Cardillo

Angel with a stethoscope

A nurse will always give us hope, an angel with a stethoscope. – Terri Guillemets

Loving your work

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

Nurse in charge

If you are a nurse, then you should wear the title with pride. Not many people are capable of doing what you do, and even fewer are capable of doing it with the charisma and passion you do it with.

#15 Do you want to speak to the Doctor in charge, or the Nurse who really knows what is going on? –Unknown

Nurse quote on appreciating nurses

I think this nurse quote is perfect for nurses week! Sometimes they’re the only one between you and a hearse. – Warren Beatty

#16 Always thank your nurse. Sometimes they’re the only one between you and a hearse. – Warren Beatty

Our job is to love people

Our job is to love people. When it hurts. When it’s awkward. When it’s uncool and embarrassing. Our job is to stand together, to carry the burdens of one another and to meet each other in our questions. – Jamie Tworkowksi

A selfless duty

Being a nurse means to hold all your own tears and start drawing smiles on people’s faces. – Dana Basem

Nurses for a healthy community

Every nurse is Angel with a Key for Healthy Community! All in Caring for Patients is part of Nursing Soul! – Aleksandar Radenovi

Nurse quote about love

If love can’t cure it, nurses can. – Unknown

Frontliners of health care

Nurses serve their patients in the most important capacities. We know that they serve as our first lines of communication when something goes wrong or when we are concerned about health. – Lois Capps

#21 Nurses serve their patients in the most important capacities. We know that they serve as our first lines of communication when something goes wrong or when we are concerned about health. – Lois Capps

Treat a person

You treat a disease: You win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you win—no matter the outcome. – Patch Adams

Nurse quote on the role of nurses

Nurses have come a long way in a few short decades. In the past our attention focused on physical, mental and emotional healing. Now we talk of healing your life, healing the environment, and healing the planet. – Lynn Keegan

#23 Nurses have come a long way in a few short decades. In the past our attention focused on physical, mental and emotional healing. Now we talk of healing your life, healing the environment, and healing the planet. – Lynn Keegan

Nurse Quote by Florence Nightingale

Just always remember that we, nurses, are unique. We have the power to promote comfort and relieve strife. Many times we are gifted with the privilege of seeing rapid results of our caring actions. The true benefits of nursing are felt in our minds and hearts. No matter how hard we try, only a nurse can truly understand and appreciate the magnitude of our job.

nurse quote: #24 Nursing is an art: and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter’s or sculptor’s work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God’s spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts: I had almost said, the finest of Fine Arts. – Florence Nightingale

Nurse Quote on Male or Female Nurses

Whether a person is a male or female, a nurse is a nurse. – Gary Veale

Teamwork in nursing

Sometimes I wipe bottoms, often I give meds, but that isn’t the extent of what I do. There are people above me and people below. I work closely with both, without them, I could not do what I do well. – Kateri Allard, RN, BSN

#27 Sometimes I wipe bottoms, often I give meds, but that isn’t the extent of what I do. There are people above me, and people below. I work closely with both, without them, I could not do what I do well. – Kateri Allard, RN, BSN

Nurse quote on suffering

As nurses we know suffering. We are fully aware of how precious each moment of life is. – Patricia Bratianu, PhD, RN, RH-AHG

Helping People

Nurses help people. And in doing so, we receive the unmatched satisfaction of knowing that we have made a difference to patients and their families. – Dawn Marino, RN, BSN, HNB-BC

#29 Nurses help people. And in doing so, we receive the unmatched satisfaction of knowing that we have made a difference to patients and their families. – Dawn Marino, RN, BSN, HNB-BC

The Micro and Macro Power of Nursing

The longer I’m in the profession, the more experiences shape my life, the more amazing colleagues influence me, the more I see the micro and macro power of nursing. – Joni Watson, MBA, MSN, RN, OCN

#30 The longer I’m in the profession, the more experiences shape my life, the more amazing colleagues influence me, the more I see the micro and macro power of nursing. – Joni Watson, MBA, MSN, RN, OCN

Nurse quote on nurses making a difference

Nursing is great for so many reasons, but there is one reason that means more than any poll results, amount of money, or job security: Nurses make a difference. – Brittney Wilson, RN, BSN @ thenerdynurse.com

#31 Nursing is great for so many reasons, but there is one reason that means more than any poll results, amount of money, or job security: Nurses make a difference. – Brittney Wilson, RN, BSN

Patient with Patients

Be patient with patients who are not patient.

Be a Great Colleague!

Be the type of nurse you want to work with.

Be-The-Type-of-Nurse-You'd-Want-To-Work-With-2

Cute and Skilled

Nurses: Cute enough to stop your heart, skilled enough to restart it!

Definition of a Nurse

Definition of a nurse: To go above and beyond the call of duty. The first to work and the last to leave. The heart and soul of caring. A unique soul who will pass through your life for a minute and impact it for an eternity. An empowered individual whom you may meet only for a 12 hour period, but who will put you and yours above theirs. -Anonymous

Funny Nurse Quote

Gotta pass the pills to pay the bills! – Anonymous

I’ll Take Care of You

A life full of demands and responsibilities is practically tied to being a nurse. Dedicated to the care of humanity, nurses spend much of the day coordinating patient care with other members of the health care team while making sure their patients receive high standards of nursing care. This means keeping up and even going beyond measures to facilitate healing and rehabilitation.

Word of Caution

Never do anything you would not want to explain to us, nurses. But we’ll take good care of you regardless! – Anonymous

Nurse Quote on Being Strong and Understanding

Nurse: Just another word to describe a person strong enough to tolerate everything and soft enough to understand everyone.

Nursing is rarely boring or predictable

Nursing is rarely boring or predictable. In few other professions, we are present at life’s most momentous events, from birth to death, from crisis to recovery. For those who thrive on variety and the full spectrum of human drama, every day brings a range of new situations. – Diane Barnet, RN

Nurse: Your guardian during your weakest times

The nurse is temporarily the consciousness of the unconscious, the love of life for the suicidal, the leg of the amputee, the eyes of the newly blind, a means of locomotion for the infant, the knowledge and confidence of the young mother, and a voice for those too weak to speak. – Virginia Henderson

Nursing is not glamor and high fashion

Being a nurse is not all glamor and high fashion, but it is always rewarding. – Anonymous

Being-a-Nurse-is-Not-All-Glitz-and-Glamor

Caring for people on their weakest moments

Being a nurse isn’t about grades, it’s about being who we are. No book can teach you how to cry with a patient. No class can teach you how to tell their family that their parents have diet or are dying. No professor can teach you how to find dignity in giving someone a bed bath. A nurse is not about the pills or charting. It’s about being able to love people when they are at their weakest moments. – Anonymous

Career and Passion

It is a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together. – Anonymous

#44 It is a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together.

Nurse Quotes for Nurse Heroes

Save one life you’re a hero. Save a hundred lives you’re a nurse. -Unknown

Nursing quote on passion

“..the hours are long, the work hard, and the pay inadequate to the amount of concentrated energy required. A nurse, however, does not view her profession dispassionately. It is too much a part of her.” – Monica Dickens

Nursing Care be There!

Constant attention by a good nurse may be just as important as a major operation by a surgeon. – Dag Hammarskjold

Florence Nightingale Quote

Nursing is an art… It is one of the Fine Arts: I had almost said, the finest of Fine Arts. – Florence Nightingale

The Heart of Healthcare

Nurses are the heart of healthcare. – Donna Wilk Cardillo

To All The Patients I’ve Cared Before

When I think about all the patients and their loved ones that 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 beautiful tapestry in my mind that is my career in nursing. – Donna Wilk Cardillo

nurse quote on: When I think about all the patients and their loved ones that 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 beautiful tapestry in my mind that is my career in nursing.

thank u, nurse.

Nurses — one of the few blessings of being ill. – Sara Moss–Wolfe

Nurse quote on forms of nurses

Nursing care comes in many forms. Sometimes it is the ability to make someone feel physically comfortable by various means. Other times it is the ability to improve the body’s ability to achieve or maintain health. But often it is an uncanny yet well honed knack to see beyond the obvious and address, in some way, the deeper needs of the human soul. – Donna Wilk Cardillo

Preach!

We’d all be worse without a nurse.

Just doing our jobs!

Our job as nurses is to cushion the sorrow and celebrate the joy everyday, while we are just doing our jobs. – Christine Belle

Nursing, a wonderful profession

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

No excuses!

Motivational nurse quote from Florence Nightingale: I attribute my success to this – I never gave or took any excuse.

Character of a nurse

The character of the nurse is as important as the knowledge she possesses. – Carolyn Jarvis

Nurses are miracle workers!

Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen every day. – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Motivational nurse quote

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something, and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do something that I can do. – Helen Keller

Nurse quote on professionalism

As nurses, we have served years of health education, and passed the boards to practice in this profession. We are professionals too, let us act like one. – Liane Clores, RN

Smallest acts of caring

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. – Leo Buscaglia

Leave people better than you found them

Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them. – Marvin J. Ashton

Nursing the planet!

Nurses have come a long way in a few short decades. In the past our attention focused on physical, mental & emotional healing. Now we talk of healing your life, healing the environment, & the planet.

Nursing prayer

Let me dedicate my life today to the care of those who come my way. Let me touch each one with a healing hand and the gentle art for which I stand. And then tonight when the day is done, let me rest in peace if I’ve helped just one.

Nursing quote on life and death

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 Bell

Clara Barton quote on Nursing

I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them. – Clara Barton

Jean Watson quote on nursing

Caring is the essence of nursing. – Jean Watson

Caring is the essence of nursing. -Dr. Jean Watson

Gladly choose it again

I know I am not alone and I appreciate all of the nurses who work alongside me. Many of them have shaped me into the nurse I am. Someday I will shape others into the nurse they will be. This wasn’t my plan B, it was my plan A, and I would gladly choose it again. – Kateri Allard, RN, BSN

Caring and making a difference

We often think of nursing as giving meds on time, checking an X–ray to see if the doctor needs to be called, or taking an admission at 2:00 a.m. with a smile on our faces. Too often, we forget all the other things that make our job what it truly is: caring and having a desire to make a difference. – Erin Pettengill

Awesome nurses

Hey you, nurse. You’re awesome!

Not all superheroes wear capes!

You’re not just a nurse!

You’re not “just a nurse”. Take pride in what you do. You’re saving lives and making a difference in someone’s life.

Have you enjoyed this collection of inspiring nurse quote? Please feel free to share them to your friends! Make the inspiration viral!

2 thoughts on “80 Nurse Quotes to Inspire, Motivate, and Humor Nurses”

Constance Gilbert

July 21, 2020 at 12:26 AM

Well done- nursing is all of the above and more. The images & word images touched this RN’s heart. After 50+ years of nursing, I have never regretted my decision-made when I was a second grader- to be a nurse.
My generation had fewer choices & I loved teaching also. My teacher’s advice was wise: A teacher can never nurse, but a nurse can always teach. I’ve done both, of course.
Like those who took me under wing so many years ago, I am now an encourager for a nursing student. I will let her know about this site.
Greg

May 4, 2021 at 5:32 PM

I like these motivating Quotes about nurse, and keep our power to help people