It is no secret by now that the pandemic has dealt blows to morale in nurses like never before. The issues are being voiced everywhere - nurses find themselves overworked, understaffed, underpaid, disrespected by both the healthcare system and many in the general public in sometimes deeply startling ways. As professionals who come to work … Continue reading Can Grieving Loss of Idealism in Nursing Give Room for New Hope?
COVID19
A PICU Nurse’s Gratitude for Frontline School Nurses
I’ve been a PICU nurse for just over 11 years and I became a mom three years into my nursing career. Now a mom of two elementary-aged girls, I went part-time as a nurse after my first child was born and have been fortunate enough to maintain a fixed work schedule since then, thanks to … Continue reading A PICU Nurse’s Gratitude for Frontline School Nurses
The Nocturnists: Sharing my Story as a Healthcare Worker and Mom in a Pandemic
The Nocturnists is a podcast that has done incredible work documenting the experiences of healthcare workers from many angles, and in current times capturing this phenomenal moment in history as we endure this COVID pandemic. I had the opportunity to reflect on the early days of the pandemic as we all began to realize that … Continue reading The Nocturnists: Sharing my Story as a Healthcare Worker and Mom in a Pandemic
A Plea for Help in Making Nursing Sustainable
My hairdresser made a comment that I hear from a lot of people who are not in healthcare. “I don’t know how you do a full 12-hour shift when it’s life-and-death work. I mean, I have long days working too but cutting and styling hair isn’t life and death. I just can’t understand how you … Continue reading A Plea for Help in Making Nursing Sustainable
COVID Vaccine: Dose #1
We are living the most wild time in recent history with this COVID pandemic, so I find it important to document our experience as nurses. Here are my reflections on the day of, and day immediately following, receiving dose #1 of the COVID vaccine. Saturday, December 19, 2020: I received the first dose of the … Continue reading COVID Vaccine: Dose #1
New Blog Post for AJN: Levels of Weariness Among Nurses
My latest blog post for American Journal of Nursing, "Levels of Weariness Among Nurses," is up. This is in deep empathy and support of all my fellow nurses everywhere. I see you. It's been the hardest year of probably our entire career, and I grieve the felt loss of public support. Still, our work matters. … Continue reading New Blog Post for AJN: Levels of Weariness Among Nurses
A Letter from a Parent to Teachers in the Time of COVID-19
It only made sense this year of the COVID-19 pandemic for Nurses Week and Teacher Appreciation Week to fall into the same period of time. As nurses, we are so aware that the general public will never fully understand or appreciate our jobs. I believe this must be true for teachers as well, especially now. … Continue reading A Letter from a Parent to Teachers in the Time of COVID-19
The Heart of Nursing 