PADONA

I'm at the beautiful Hotel Hershey for the annual PADONA conference. PADONA stands for Pennsylvania Directors of Nursing Association/Long Term Care Division. There must be more than 350 nurses here - most of whom work in management.

The workshops have been outstanding this year. And during one, I, along with about thirty other nurses, was able to stand up and receive applause because we've been in the profession more than forty years.

If you ever get a chance to hear Leah Klush, a nurse who has her own consulting business, do it. She tells it like it is, but with humor.

There are a lot of "me's" out there - older nurses who are tired and wonder how much longer they can do the job.

Thirty of us stood up today, on arthritic knees and with sore backs.

We deserved the applause.