Ten years into being a pediatric ICU nurse, I find I still grieve the saddest patient cases the same way I did from day one. It hits the day after with unpredictable tears, and I'm discombobulated as I try to reorient myself to my "normal" life and all its demands on me as mama, while … Continue reading Anchor for the Years
grief
Columbia University Narrative Medicine Volvox Presentation
Please join me, the editors of "The Healer's Burden: Stories and Poems of Professional Grief," and two other contributors to the book, Lara Ronan and Rondalyn Varney Whitney, for a virtual panel discussion in the upcoming Columbia University Narrative Medicine Volvox Presentation on Wednesday, October 28th, 2020, from 7-9 pm EST / 5-7 pm PST. … Continue reading Columbia University Narrative Medicine Volvox Presentation
Pre-Order Now Available: The Healer’s Burden
I am beyond thrilled to share that this book I had the privilege to contribute an essay to, The Healer's Burden: Stories and Poems of Professional Grief, is now available for pre-order. My essay is titled "Silent Intercession," and I am so looking forward to slowly making my way through the rest of the pieces. … Continue reading Pre-Order Now Available: The Healer’s Burden
Advent is for Those who Grieve
Advent is for those who grieve, in a culture obsessed with happiness at all costs, especially during the Western version of the Christmas season. Advent is for nurses like me and my colleagues who said one final goodbye this past weekend to a patient who’d become the sweetheart of our unit, a joyful light … Continue reading Advent is for Those who Grieve
A Plea from a Pediatric ICU Nurse in Response to the Saugus High School Shooting
Preventable traumas are the hardest for us to see as pediatric ICU nurses. Gunshot wounds, permanent disabilities and deaths from senseless violence, child abuse because of a broken system letting cases fall through the cracks, car accidents from DUIs resulting in kids being the innocent victims. I have come face to face with all of … Continue reading A Plea from a Pediatric ICU Nurse in Response to the Saugus High School Shooting
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
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
No Ordinary Sunday
The readjusting back and forth between intensely challenging nursing shifts and everyday normal life is a real thing to navigate. It still catches me by surprise every time, how hard it really is. I am in the thick of a full 12+ hours of trying to manage chaos and logistics in a unit full … Continue reading No Ordinary Sunday
TED-Ed Lesson on “How Grief Can Enable Nurses to Endure” now available!
For all nurse educators, managers, leaders, bookclub facilitators, or bedside nurses looking for a guided way to talk about work-related grief with other nurses: I have created a new TED-Ed lesson based on my original TEDxTalk, "How Grief Can Enable Nurses to Endure." It includes some introductory prompts allowing for people to share about their work-related … Continue reading TED-Ed Lesson on “How Grief Can Enable Nurses to Endure” now available!
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
