Julie Godby Murray - Nurse Honor Guard - Nurses Take DC 2018

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Julie Godby Murray, RN has over 40 years in healthcare and is currently an OR nurse in Michigan. She has been instrumental in developing the Nurse Honor Guard. This is a ceremony that takes place to honor a nurse's service to her patients, community, family and friends. As Ms Murray states, "It's so healing for the families. Families know what we go through. The families are very touched." She further explains that the Honor Guard wears a white dress, cap, cape, and they carry a white rose that is placed on the casket to symbolize the caring that a nurse does during her lifetime.

This is a ceremony that takes place to honor a nurse's service to her patients, community, family and friends. As Ms Murray states, " Its so healing for the families. Families know what we go through. The families are very touched." She further explains that the Honor Guard wears a white dress, cap, cape, and they carry a white rose that is placed on the casket to symbolize the caring that a nurse does during her lifetime.

Here is an example of a Nurse Honor Guard ceremony.

Taking their cue from military honor guards with a tradition of honoring fallen military comrades via a ceremonial tribute, the Nursing Honor Guard provides this tribute for nurses who have died. Julie, who is also the union steward for over 500 nurses in a Michigan hospital system provided some more information about what a Nurse Honor Guard does:

Attend all services wearing the traditional white uniforms with cap and cape
Stand guard at the nurse's casket or simply provide a presence at the visitation.
Recite "A Nurse's Prayer" at the funeral or during a special service
Present the Florence Nightingale lamp to the family.
Place a white rose on the nurse's casket at the end of the service, which signifies the nurse's devotion to his or her profession.

Julie has been a driving force in the further development and spread of the Nurse Honor Guard. From the east coast all the way to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, you will find Nurse Honor Guards ready and willing to pay tribute to their fellow nurses. Julie is willing to help and has assembled many tips on her organization's FaceBook page; OPEIU Nurses Honor Guard.

Julie was also one of the invited speakers at the 2018 Nurses Take DC. She encourages nurses to legislate for adequate nurse-patient ratios. She stated, "Our hospital has the same staffing ratios that California has and our ancillary personnel are figured into this. We need them too!" She went on, "We have the power, lets do this together." She closed her discussion with this quote from Alice Walker, "The most common way people give up their power is by believing they don't have any."

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References:

Alice Walker, Author of the Color Purple

Julie Godby Murray - Nurse Honor Guard - Nurses Take DC 2018

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