This week, the work of our countries 2.9 million registered nurses is celebrated for National Nurses Week.

Nurses: their strength, commitment and compassion is the theme for this year's national nurses week. As we meet a couple of nurses who take care of cancer patients, we see that all three attributes are displayed daily. Registered nurse Patricia Pitano explains, "It is rewarding, it is a hard, difficult thing to do. It is difficult that you can say that yes you have cancer, but also at the same time you can help the family realize that it might not be the end, there are options."

Oncology Care Specialist Laurie Wise says, "Whatever is going on in your personal life somehow becomes really, really small when you look at what these patients have to go through."

Patricia says in oncology, there are unique nursing skills and knowledge required to care for patients. "We try to be as close as we can to our patients. It's very personal. We're very lucky on this unit that we can spend time with our patients and they become kind of like part of your family."

Patricia's not only speaking from her experience as an oncology nurse, but she also knows what it's like to be on the other side of the bed-as a cancer survivor. "I did have a tumor that was growing on the thyroid. It was a cancer. It was a very, very difficult to deal with. So I can sympathize, I know how they feel."

And Patricia is showing other cancer survivors that life can get even better after cancer. Between work & family she's also studying to be a nurse practitioner.

During nurses week activities are held throughout the nation to appreciate, support and promote the profession of nursing. If you've ever considered a career in nursing, jobs for qualified nurses are abundant throughout the world.