It has rarely been more apparent than now, that no one is more overworked or less appreciated than our nurses. Of all of our first responders, nurses have to handle the broadest range of human emotion, human pain, and tragedy. I’ve personally seen my friends and loved ones who are nurses handling the pandemic we are currently facing with grace and dignity I cannot even imagine. If there were ever a literal definition of theoretical “angels”, it’s these remarkable humans.

The 2014 documentary THE AMERICAN NURSE, directed by Carolyn Jones, highlights a handful of the remarkable nurses working in the United States. Naomi Cross, a nurse working in labor and delivery. Jason Short, a home hospice nurse. Tonia Faust, the head of a prison hospice program. Sister Stephen, a nun who runs a nursing home where she also works with underserviced foster children, and raises baby animals. Brian McMillion, an army veteran working to help soldiers who have returned wounded from combat. These are the five incredible heroes highlighted in THE AMERICAN NURSE. Through the course of the film, we see these nurses in moments of strength, moments of sorrow, and truly begin to understand the tolls these jobs can take on them – and how deep all of their connections are to this job that is their calling.

One of the biggest messages of THE AMERICAN NURSE is the depth of the heart each of these professionals have. Every single one of these nurses has a history that led them to this exact moment of their career. Jason had a bad accident as a teenager that he spent over a year recovering from. Naomi has suffered a miscarriage and has carried the guilt and trauma for her whole adult life. Tonia followed her mother’s footsteps into nursing, and turned to the most sorrowful and neglected of inmates at the prison. There’s a personal reason each of them got here, and their hearts are tied to the work. It’s inspiring to see these very different people from very different walks of life find a common purpose in nursing.

THE AMERICAN NURSE takes time and care with each story and each facet of these nurses’ lives. We are granted a window into their home lives – Naomi’s husband is even interviewed as he shares the distinct, specific isolation Naomi feels as she can’t share her work day with her friends. Where most people can come home and explain the day they had, she finds her friends don’t have the bandwidth to listen to stories that include death, life, and pain all day every day. In a particularly moving moment, Sister Stephen gathers staff from around the facility to the bedside of a dying patient, and they sing “How Great Thou Art” for her. We see the way these nurses usher in both life and death.

I hope, after we come through the terror and trauma we are living now, we recognize that there are heroes walking among us every day, mostly unrecognized. I hope that many of us take this time, and this special rerelease, to watch THE AMERICAN NURSE – a perfect microcosm of all of the reasons we literally and metaphorically owe our lives to nurses. THE AMERICAN NURSE reminds us what -and who- matters most at a time when we need to hear it most. In honor of those on the front lines, now and always, thank a nurse.

THE AMERICAN NURSE is available to watch now at www.kinonow.com. To learn more about the American Nurse Project, visit www.americannurseproject.com.

10/10 stars

THE AMERICAN NURSE 

Runtime: 81 mins
Directed by: Carolyn Jones

THE AMERICAN NURSE reminds us what -and who- matters most at a time when we need to hear it most.

THE AMERICAN NURSE – a perfect microcosm of all of the reasons we literally and metaphorically owe our lives to nurses

THE AMERICAN NURSE takes time and care with each story and each facet of these nurses’ lives.