Aviano celebrates Nurse and Medical Technician Appreciation Week Published May 3, 2012 By Tech. Sgt. Kathleen Mansfield 31st Medical Operations Squadron AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy -- The 31st Medical Group joins the Air Force Medical Service in celebrating Nurse and Medical Technician Appreciation Week May 6-12. During this year's observance, the unit has several events planned to honor its nearly 100 nurses and medical technicians working in such areas as family health, obstetrics and gynecology, flight medicine, pediatrics, ambulance services, labor and delivery, same-day surgery, the operating room and anesthesia services. "Behind every successful provider is an extraordinary and compassionate nurse-tech team," said Col. Linda Lawrence, 31st MDG commander. "I'd like to extend a special thanks to all our nurses and medical technicians for all you do every day to help us deliver the best care anywhere." The weeklong celebration kicks off with a breakfast for the honorees sponsored by 31st MDG doctors. "Nurses and medics are the most important part of pre-provider care," said Maj. (Dr.) Celestine Mararac, 31st Medical Operations Squadron. "This observance recognizes all of the outstanding nurses who ensure the patients labs are ordered and ready before their appointments so their provider has something to go over with them. It recognizes that they do an often thankless job addressing those painful, but important telephone consult-related concerns or triaging those who desperately need to see a provider or the emergency room. It recognizes the often overlooked and under praised medics who perform vital signs, often repeating abnormal ones so that providers can treat the patient who may be suffering from hypertension, shock or infection. It also recognizes the hard work that goes into the team -- medics, nurses and providers -- all tediously and thoroughly going over the patient's extensive medication list to ensure the providers don't make the untimely mistake of ordering something they used to be on, but are not anymore; and finally, working in concert as an orchestra/team to make sure that the patient in the room with the provider knows they are going to be cared for to the utmost of their ability by each member of that team." "Without the medics and nurses, the providers could not give the best service in the military that we do every day," Mararac continued. "Being among the 1 percent of medical professionals in the U.S. who dedicate their time, effort, and often their families to the care of those in service to our country, our nurses and medics should be proud of their service and deserve to be recognized for a job well done." Other planned observance activities include an emergency medical technician scenario-based race in which teams of one nurse and one medical technician must apply their medical skills at different stations and an ice cream social sponsored by the 31st MDG chief nurse. The observance closes with a Nurse and Medical Technician All Call May 11, showcasing the different specialties the Air Force has to offer in the 4N (medical technician) and nursing world. This annual observance is celebrated in conjunction with National Nurses Week, which commences on the birthday of Florence Nightingale, a celebrated English nurse and pioneer of the nursing profession. National Nurses Week dates back to 1954, which marked the 100th anniversary of Nightingale's medical contributions during the Crimean War. This year's theme is "Nurses: Advocating, Leading, Caring."