‘Nurse Virginia’ Tribute by ZDoggMD Gets to the Heart of Nursing

What’s not to love about ZDoggMD with his quirky humor and mean guitar play – yet razor-sharp insight into the realities of nursing?

Nurse Virginia” is his musical tribute to all nurses “the unsung heroes of healthcare.” Well, I guess with this excellent song they are no longer “unsung”!

The clip is a parody of the 90’s hit song “Meet Virginia” by Train, a rock band from San Francisco. Getting to the heart of the life of nurses, it takes you from laughing one minute to swallowing a tear the next.

The nurse runs between IV’s to replace a pulled out cath, answers a code 13, has a full bladder, unusual circadian rhythm, and screams for more caffeine. Meanwhile, she finds time to make fun of the residents and facilitate turkey sandwiches for her patients. She saves lives but her own life suffers – she has to let her family know that she is covering another shift.

But in the end, she says: “I would never change a thing.”

During the choruses, you “meet” Virginia in a line-up of beautiful, smiling nurses, of all ages, colors, shapes, and sizes. Even a hunky male nurse – most unlikely to be named Virginia.

“Virginia” in this tribute might also be serendipitous considering Virginia Henderson, the first modern nurse theorist to define the unique focus of nursing practice – assisting in meeting the basic human needs of patients.

On the ZDoggMD website, together with the post of the video, he thanks us for being the eyes, ears, and hearts on the frontlines, and also for the grace and dignity with which we meet our daily challenges. “Thank you for being YOU,” he says.

The production, as well as a pot-luck for the nurses at the hospital where it was filmed, was sponsored by BoardVitals.

Frieda Paton is a registered nurse with a Master’s degree in nursing education. Her passion for nursing education, nursing issues and advocacy for the profession were ignited while she worked as an education officer, and later editor, at a national nurses’ association. This passion, together with interest in health and wellness education since her student days, stayed with her throughout her further career as a nurse educator and occupational health nurse. Having reached retirement age, she continues to contribute to the profession as a full-time freelance writer. In the news and feature articles she writes for Nurseslabs, she hopes to inspire nursing students and nurses on the job to reflect on the trends and issues that affect their profession and communities - and play their part in advocacy wherever they find themselves.

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