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thinking again about courage because a few days ago, my colleague held a little one in her arms after life support was withdrawn, until his heart finally … Continue reading The Many Faces of Courage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
Brief Post-TEDxTalk Reflections
As more speaking and writing opportunities have presented themselves post-TEDx Talk (and the YouTube video hasn’t even been published yet!), I have found myself doing some soul-searching about who I am and what I want to come of all this, as I am graciously given a growing voice for and amongst nurses. I am not … Continue reading Brief Post-TEDxTalk Reflections
Guest Post for American Journal of Nursing: Learning New Skills of Supporting One Another as Nurses
Life post-TEDx Talk is slowly returning to a more reasonable pace, which means I finally have more time to start writing again. This latest guest blog post for the American Journal of Nursing is about an issue I have been wrestling with for awhile: Why do we nurses still seem to have a hard time … Continue reading Guest Post for American Journal of Nursing: Learning New Skills of Supporting One Another as Nurses
Livestream link for my TEDx Talk: How Grief Enables Me to Endure as a Nurse
**UPDATE**: The livestream link is no longer active. To view the TEDx Talk, please click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SasMjDCSyR4&t=1s *************************** It's been way too quiet on this blog, but that's because I've been working on my biggest project to date - preparing my TEDx Talk entitled "How Grief Enables Me to Endure as a Nurse." The Talk … Continue reading Livestream link for my TEDx Talk: How Grief Enables Me to Endure as a Nurse
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
Intimate Strangers: Article for AJN’s Aug 2017 Reflections column
Meeting a family for the first time, on the day they will say good-bye to their child for the last time. Taking care of the child's physical needs until it's time to be the one who turns off all that has been sustaining those needs. It is one of the most profound interactions a nurse … Continue reading Intimate Strangers: Article for AJN’s Aug 2017 Reflections column
The Heart of Nursing 