On the surface, when nurses first start out in our career, we have a vague and admittedly idealized sense of how compassion will always be a core driver in why and how we care for our patients. But we quickly discover that navigating our emotions over our work is fraught with complexity and mixed messages, … Continue reading How Much Emotion in Nursing is Too Much?
pediatric nursing
Caring for Non-Accidental Traumas as a PICU Nurse
Whenever the child abuse cases, or “non-accidental traumas (NATs)” come into our unit, a very tender unsettledness, laced with anger, descends upon all the staff. We hate all kinds of suffering that our little patients endure, but the suffering that comes with intent and disregard from the hands of the very adults who are supposed … Continue reading Caring for Non-Accidental Traumas as a PICU Nurse
Captain of the Ship: On Being PICU Charge Nurse in a Stormy Season
I sat at the helm in a swirl of chaos captain of the ship for the day coming dangerously close to bringing too much weight on board * lives on the verge of going under we were trying our best to bring them to shore to steadier ground to brighter days * and to keep … Continue reading Captain of the Ship: On Being PICU Charge Nurse in a Stormy Season
Sharing in the Loneliness of Extraordinary Suffering: A Nurse’s Quiet Burden
We had all just started our shift when the code bells alarmed. We ran to the room, and someone was already performing CPR. After several rounds, our Attending Physician sadly announced the time of death and we braced ourselves for the mom's agonizing screams. Our chaplain, social worker, respiratory therapist, care partners, and physician colleagues … Continue reading Sharing in the Loneliness of Extraordinary Suffering: A Nurse’s Quiet Burden
The Ethical Use of our Therapeutic Connections with Patients’ Families
“What would you do, doctor?” The family had been explicit in wanting straightforward communication about their child, whose neurological disease had progressed to the point where she was continually seizing, despite every medication the physicians had tried. The seizures were in turn damaging her brain, such that she was minimally responsive to stimuli and was … Continue reading The Ethical Use of our Therapeutic Connections with Patients’ Families
Fifteen Years as a PICU Nurse: When the Romance Fades
I hit my 15 year anniversary as a PICU nurse over the weekend. This was a few days after we said goodbye to some of our most beloved senior nurses in our unit, after their positions were eliminated at the hospital due to all the budgeting constraints from nationwide political pressures. I've found myself reflecting … Continue reading Fifteen Years as a PICU Nurse: When the Romance Fades
When Empathy and Desire to Help Others are not Enough to Fuel Nursing
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
Grief as a Teacher (revisited)
In my TEDTalk from 2017, I made a comment about grief being a powerful teacher. I've been asked for elaboration on this statement a number of times since then, and I always pause in my response because I know it's true, but it's deep and difficult to explain on the spot. But it deserves a … Continue reading Grief as a Teacher (revisited)
Walking Closely with Families: A Letter
A letter to my long time patient’s mom — You were trapped in the fishbowl of our ICU. You went from a numb stare to near catatonic with grief to terse and closed in to opening your door a crack to pouring your heart out, telling me stories, speaking of fears and hopes and uncertainties … Continue reading Walking Closely with Families: A Letter
On Suppressing Professional Grief
“Help needed stat in 3117” I was resource nurse and saw the text. I looked over to 3117 and saw the commotion of people outside the room. They’d already pulled the crash cart over and I knew right away that no other needs - my colleague’s break relief, another neighbor’s request for help with a … Continue reading On Suppressing Professional Grief
The Heart of Nursing 