My mother was a nurse. My wife and my sister are both nurses. It’s likely that because I’m surrounded by nurses in both my personal life and my professional life (I’m an MD), that I have a little insight into the vital role nurses have in our society. That said, this blog entry would have been much better if it had been written by my wife.

Nurses, female and male:
- universally enjoy contributing and making a difference
- are doers, they see a need, they jump in and help
- make a tremendous contribution to the wellness of society, both at work and at home
- are wonderful teachers
- are warm and caring
- frequently volunteer at churches, schools and summer camps
- feel pressured into working because of the nursing shortage
- frequently work horrible shifts and often long hours
- don’t get to spend enough time with their families
- are under-compensated, financially
- are under-appreciated

I don’t want to encourage nurses to leave their profession because there really is a very troublesome, world-wide, shortage of nurses. I do however want to see nurses better compensated, so that they can spend more time enjoying life with their families.

Contrary to common ‘wisdom’ network marketing is not a sales business, it’s an education and training business. The paradigm is to make a difference by helping others live more enjoyable lives. It seems to me that nurses are a natural fit for network marketing.

Update 20111104: I’m no longer involved with network marketing.