A couple of months ago, we had a cluster of patients come through our pediatric ICU with extraordinarily heavy stories of injustice. One child had been severely abused for months by a caretaker in the hiddenness of the caretaker’s home. Another child had been shot by a stranger and was left mentally intact but physically … Continue reading Where is God in the PICU: Cases of Injustice
empathy
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
Grief and the Good and Hopeful Life
In my last blog post, I took a birds-eye view with some thoughts on why we don’t know what to do with grief. I’m not trying to talk us out of grief by rationalizing. It only makes sense that we don’t readily know what to do with grief. It can hurt like hell. Its existence … Continue reading Grief and the Good and Hopeful Life
Why We Don’t Know What to do With Grief
In my recent interview for an upcoming NPR TED Radio Hour podcast (10/1) on “Heartbreak,” the host, Manoush Zomorodi, asked a series of insightful questions from many angles about my experiences with grief over the years as a pediatric ICU nurse. Those questions have sparked many thoughts that I believe are worth exploring and sharing … Continue reading Why We Don’t Know What to do With Grief
Example of (Virtual) Narrative Medicine Exercise
It's been more quiet than usual here but that's because I've been busy writing for my online Narrative Medicine program with Columbia University. I thought I'd take a moment to share the (virtual) practice of Narrative Medicine that we have been participating in for the program. It's a beautiful approach to using creative arts to … Continue reading Example of (Virtual) Narrative Medicine Exercise
what I wish I could heal as your nurse
Would you give me permission to tell you without overstepping my bounds, personal, professional that this is not your fault. You were only trying to take good care of your baby; you didn’t know, you didn’t know. I see the protest in your eyes, Someone has to be to blame, and that someone is … Continue reading what I wish I could heal as your nurse
Discovering Narrative Medicine
I first discovered the concept of Narrative Medicine when I began to search for journals to which I could submit writing for potential publication. I stumbled upon Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, and was so taken by the depth of self-reflection, honesty, vulnerability, and intentionality in considering the patient/practitioner dynamics, I knew I had … Continue reading Discovering Narrative Medicine
AJN’s Nurses Week 2019 collection of favorite articles
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
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
Keynote Speech to RN Residency New Grad Nurses: The Best and Most Vital Thing You Can Give Your Patients
I had the privilege of delivering the keynote speech to our hospital's recent cohort of RN Residency New Graduate Nurses as they have completed orientation and will now be working independently in their respective units. One of the things I was most excited about was the opportunity to also briefly address the many friends and … Continue reading Keynote Speech to RN Residency New Grad Nurses: The Best and Most Vital Thing You Can Give Your Patients
The Heart of Nursing 