This is a rather personal reflection, and I debated whether to post it on my personal blog versus this nursing-specific one. Ultimately this is still very much about the issues and conversations happening within nursing, so with some sense of vulnerability, I’m posting it here. What a curious journey the past year has been. People … Continue reading Vision and Faithfulness
New AJN Post: Strong Nursing Management Empowers the Why
My latest blog post for American Journal of Nursing brings light to the incredible nursing management that I and my colleagues are so fortunate to work under. We realize this is not the culture for all nurses, but my hope in writing the article is that it would inspire many nurse managers to consider the … Continue reading New AJN Post: Strong Nursing Management Empowers the Why
TED-Ed Lesson on “How Grief Can Enable Nurses to Endure” now available!
For all nurse educators, managers, leaders, bookclub facilitators, or bedside nurses looking for a guided way to talk about work-related grief with other nurses: I have created a new TED-Ed lesson based on my original TEDxTalk, "How Grief Can Enable Nurses to Endure." It includes some introductory prompts allowing for people to share about their work-related … Continue reading TED-Ed Lesson on “How Grief Can Enable Nurses to Endure” now available!
Keynote Speech to RN Residency New Grad Nurses: The Best and Most Vital Thing You Can Give Your Patients
I had the privilege of delivering the keynote speech to our hospital's recent cohort of RN Residency New Graduate Nurses as they have completed orientation and will now be working independently in their respective units. One of the things I was most excited about was the opportunity to also briefly address the many friends and … Continue reading Keynote Speech to RN Residency New Grad Nurses: The Best and Most Vital Thing You Can Give Your Patients
New AJN blog post: Tallying Losses and Gains of Being a Nurse, and Finding Profit
My latest blog post for AJN was inspired by an honest conversation with a friend who went through a period of time when she wondered whether nursing was beginning to destroy her. These are some thoughts on how we emerge and find renewal of heart from that place. Click here to read the post.
New AJN blog post: Integrating Strong Emotions as a Developing Nurse
If you were sitting in front of a classroom of nursing students, full of idealism and motivation about their future career, what would you tell them? "We want to present the reality of nursing to these students, not to shatter their idealism, but to push them towards meaningful self-awareness from the start of their nursing … Continue reading New AJN blog post: Integrating Strong Emotions as a Developing Nurse
The Many Faces of Courage
I wrote this article for my unit's newsletter about seven years ago, just a few months out of orientation as a new graduate nurse. I have found myself thinking again about courage because a few days ago, my colleague held a little one in her arms after life support was withdrawn, until his heart finally … Continue reading The Many Faces of Courage
Bringing the Voice of Nurses to the TED/TEDx Table – and how you can help
I love hearing people’s stories about their lives – their work, their family, their experiences of joy and of sorrow. Hearing the stories helps break down my misconceptions and false assumptions. The stories give me a deeper appreciation for life experiences that are far removed from my own. They teach me more about the depth … Continue reading Bringing the Voice of Nurses to the TED/TEDx Table – and how you can help
TEDxTalk – YouTube link is live!
On Sept 30 of this year, I had the incredible opportunity to give a TEDxTalk with TEDxPasadena on "How Grief Can Enable Nurses to Endure." This talk is for all healthcare professionals, but nurses in particular, who have grieved with and for their patients and families, and have went home wondering what to do with … Continue reading TEDxTalk – YouTube link is live!
On Being a Christian Mother and a Pediatric ICU Nurse
There may be no greater revealers of my deepest wrestling with my humanity than the roles of both a mother and a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) nurse. Everyone says becoming a parent changes you, and it does, in countless indescribable ways. Every healthcare professional says being close to sickness and death changes you, and … Continue reading On Being a Christian Mother and a Pediatric ICU Nurse
