Caring to Heal        Mary Groth was the artist commissioned by NSASD for our print "Caring to Heal, When Caring Ceases, Nursing Ceases." The original artwork can be viewed at the Dacotah Prairie Museum in Aberdeen. Prints are available for purchase in limited quantities to nurses and nursing students for $50. Example of Authentication Certificate Download Order Form     Artist Statement        While reading about and interviewing professional nurses I found one constant theme inherent in the history of teaching and practicing nursing, and the theme is caring. Since the days of Florence Nightingale to the present, tremendous innovations have taken place in the health care field. Today's highly educated nurses practice a wide range of complex skills in an ever-changing technological world. Yet I have found that from the young student to the seasoned professional, most nurses chose their vocation because they are compassionate people concerned with the welfare of their fellow human beings.        In the artwork, I express this idea in the central figures of a nurse cradling a small child and enclosed in the symbolic shape of a heart. Because this image is about South Dakota nurses, the sky blue and sunny yellow of our state flag together with the green prairie grass give the image a strong "sense of place." The military insignia and early prairie people, both young and old, from farms, towns and villages, captures the history of the Dakota people. A public health nurse, many of whom traveled long distances to care for rural families, stands beside them, familiar bag in hand. In the foreground, a busy RN takes the time to comfort a sick child. In South Dakota fields, indigenous coneflowers, now used to make the herb echinacea, still grow wild. Native Americans used many such plants for healing, and now medical science is discovering the value of nature's plants in developing medicines. The holistic philosophy in nursing is concerned with the whole person - mind, body, and spirit. New concepts such as having pets commingle with our elderly in their assisted care environments are becoming widely accepted as beneficial to overall wellness.        The art and science of nursing will continue to grow in new directions but as the century unfolds, South Dakota nurses will embody the most essential quality - caring. Because when caring ceases, nursing ceases. -Artist Mary Groth