When Katherine first started bringing her very medically-complicated daughter into our pediatric ICU, we all marveled that her child had even survived the early months of infancy. All the odds were against them, but they were tough, this mom and daughter pair. I didn’t know what her pregnancy and birth journeys were like. Did she … Continue reading An Unexpected Remedy for My Moral Distress
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Stewarding Power as a Nurse
I am in a position of power as a pediatric ICU nurse. I can hold a wriggly patient down, poke him with needles, insert tubes into her nose. I can give or withhold food to a hungry child per a doctor’s orders. I can abruptly wake my patient from much-needed sleep at any time, day … Continue reading Stewarding Power as a Nurse
New Blog Post for AJN: The Gift of Feedback
My latest blog post for American Journal of Nursing is up, titled "The Gift of Feedback." I take a look at a couple experiences where I asked for - and was asked for - feedback in the most gracious ways, and yet still struggled to find open, smooth venues of communication. It takes ongoing practice, … Continue reading New Blog Post for AJN: The Gift of Feedback
A Letter from a Christian PICU Nurse to the Western Christian Church
To my Western Christian brothers and sisters, I come to you as a fellow Christian and as a pediatric ICU nurse with a burden and a plea. I come to you as someone who knew in theory and through some personal experience before I became a nurse, that this world can be cruel and unfair. … Continue reading A Letter from a Christian PICU Nurse to the Western Christian Church
What’s in a Name
I shared this story on my personal blog after my Narrative Ethics class in my Narrative Medicine program prompted me to think upon the story of my name again. I find it so pertinent to the times we live in, attempts to build connections with our patients and the real barriers we can face with … Continue reading What’s in a Name
Guest Blog Post for Crossroads: The Worthwhile Art of Careful Listening
In an incredibly noisy world - particularly for us introverts - the art of careful listening proves to make all the difference for my family friend hospitalized in the ICU who had only one silent but extraordinary way left to make his voice heard. My short Crossroads blog post for The Intima: A Journal of … Continue reading Guest Blog Post for Crossroads: The Worthwhile Art of Careful Listening
Essay for Spring 2020 Issue of Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine
My essay, Best Brother, published in the Spring 2020 issue of Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, tells the story of a long-time family friend who suffered a severe spinal cord injury last summer and, like so many of our patients and families, was faced with sudden life-altering decisions in the ICU. But with a … Continue reading Essay for Spring 2020 Issue of Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine
New Blog Post for AJN: The Nurse’s Temptation to Fill in the Patient Handoff Narrative
In my latest blog post for American Journal of Nursing, I share a reflection on how easy it is for me as a nurse to presume I know a patient and family's full story when I don't know it at all. What happens to the nuances of our care when we are or are not … Continue reading New Blog Post for AJN: The Nurse’s Temptation to Fill in the Patient Handoff Narrative
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
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 