In a recent harrowing shift and the subsequent “I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck” day after, I found myself wondering what was really behind some feelings in me that we generally label “burnout.” Did I just not care enough about my patient and her family to consider all the hard work more … Continue reading When Empathy and Desire to Help Others are not Enough to Fuel Nursing
self care
The Year I Almost Walked Out on the Job
I would venture to say that two attributes we all have in common in the pediatric ICU (and nursing in general) are our affinity to be problem-solvers in tough situations, and to be comforters to the suffering. These attributes are what make us all so good at our jobs. They likely also exacerbate our distress … Continue reading The Year I Almost Walked Out on the Job
A Note from/for the Weary Nurse, April 2025
It's been hard to write. But I put this down on another social media site, and thought I would share it here. We are not just nurse-robots that come to work. We are whole people, carrying other burdens on our shoulders from our personal lives, trying to show up the best we can for our … Continue reading A Note from/for the Weary Nurse, April 2025
On Collective, Systemic Grief as an ICU Nurse
Those who have been following my public work over the years know that it started off with a desire to bring voice to - and integrate - the individual grief that we carry on behalf of our patients. When COVID hit, nurses began to grapple with entirely different levels of grief. Particularly for my incredible … Continue reading On Collective, Systemic Grief as an ICU Nurse
Upcoming Grief Workshop for Caregivers
Caregiving can be laden with layers of complicated and sometimes conflicting emotions. So many losses can go unrecognized, and can leave caregivers feeling unseen. So grateful to partner with Pinelawn Memorial Park and Arboretum, and COPE Foundation, to offer this free online workshop offering caregivers a space to be heard. This workshop will give us … Continue reading Upcoming Grief Workshop for Caregivers
In Times of Overwhelm as a Nurse, Begin with One Intentional Act at a Time
One of the most difficult things about trying to be empathetic, engaged and informed with all that has been going on with both our local Los Angeles wildfire devastation as well as our country's political chaos, is the utter overwhelmedness of so many very serious issues to grapple with all at once. I think most … Continue reading In Times of Overwhelm as a Nurse, Begin with One Intentional Act at a Time
Persevering through Hard Seasons as a Nurse
There is more going on than I know how to put words to. The wildfires have ravaged Los Angeles. My home and family are safe, but I could see the flames glowing six miles north of me, which was beyond bizarre and disorienting. I know more dear friends than I would like who have lost … Continue reading Persevering through Hard Seasons as a Nurse
The Perils of Rushed Listening and Overeager Attempts to Fix Grief
The other day, I met up for a casual coffee with a lovely friend who is not in the healthcare realm. As it goes in catching up with friends, I was trying to give the summarized version of how life has been this past year on both a personal and professional level. I briefly alluded … Continue reading The Perils of Rushed Listening and Overeager Attempts to Fix Grief
Self Care: The Value of Solitude and Introspection
In all my 14 years of PICU nursing, I've never quite experienced the overlapping volume and intensity of suffering, moral distress amongst nurses, death, and anger from patients' families that our unit experienced this past August - October. The bike accident that snuffed out a teenage life in a moment. The newly diagnosed cancer patient … Continue reading Self Care: The Value of Solitude and Introspection
Reckless Politics and the Potential for Profound Harm in Healthcare
I have little desire to turn this space into a forum for political arguments. That said, we are barely recovered as individual healthcare workers, a healthcare system, and a country, from the pandemic and some of the political mishandlings that happened during the pandemic. Healthcare has never been easy, but we all have felt the … Continue reading Reckless Politics and the Potential for Profound Harm in Healthcare
The Heart of Nursing 