There are certain patient cases that never leave you as a nurse. They are the experiences that hold - and shape - the indescribable art of nursing as you learn how to read significant cues, listen to the unspoken, and hold another's heart while also holding your own as it comes undone. American Journal of … Continue reading AJN’s Nurses Week 2019 collection of favorite articles
compassion
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thinking again about courage because a few days ago, my colleague held a little one in her arms after life support was withdrawn, until his heart finally … Continue reading The Many Faces of Courage
When Brokenness Transforms Nursing: Guest Post for American Journal of Nursing
The tendency for nurses, I feel, is to depend primarily on our sense of internal strength, resilience and coping to be effective in this profession. But is it possible for the nurse to find the inner recognition of his/her own brokenness as a transformative gift to strengthen his/her nursing practice? My latest guest post for … Continue reading When Brokenness Transforms Nursing: Guest Post for American Journal of Nursing
How to Prevent a Code as a Nurse (and it’s not the way you think)
Hers was a story that would make you shake your head in disbelief just to hear the background, never mind what all actually went down on my shift with her. An unstable family, a turbulent social life, clear signs of personal distress. As the nurse, I listened to the story, and like a good nurse, … Continue reading How to Prevent a Code as a Nurse (and it’s not the way you think)
The Messy Untangling: On Sorting Through the Hard Feelings after a Rough Shift
Today, I’m feeling it. The untangling after a particularly intense shift on all levels. I walked into a shift with a family whose child had taken a big turn for the worse and they had no guarantees that moving forward with certain procedures and therapies would turn things around for the better. We could only … Continue reading The Messy Untangling: On Sorting Through the Hard Feelings after a Rough Shift
A Shared Sense of Rest: On Therapeutic Presence and the Power of Quiet
She was not my patient, but I had briefly met her earlier in the day, and my co-worker asked if I might be free to go in her room and just be with her awhile while my co-worker caught up on charting. The patient was having an anxiety attack, and the Ativan we had given … Continue reading A Shared Sense of Rest: On Therapeutic Presence and the Power of Quiet
The Small Unforgettable Lesson: On Feeling the Gap Between the Nurse and the Patient’s Family
Disoriented, exhausted, and almost slightly embarrassed, she emerged from her dark room and blinked. I was the nurse for a different patient a couple doors down and had occasionally glanced at the photos she had taped on the front of her son’s door throughout the day – photos of her infant son in his healthier … Continue reading The Small Unforgettable Lesson: On Feeling the Gap Between the Nurse and the Patient’s Family
