At this point in mid-life, as my wife and I take a break from working and travel the country, I am giving a great deal of thought to my career, or what I think my career should be. Nursing is certainly the career track upon which I have been treading since 1996, and it is indeed a viable, flexible and (sometimes) attractive way to earn a living. While I have never worked in a hospital (which some nurses deem an irresponsible act of professional suicide), I have enjoyed many positions in the outpatient world, namely hospice, community health centers, home care, case management, and public health.
After almost fourteen years as a nurse, I am questioning what the next chapter will look like. Will I work with Latinos in New Mexico, Native Americans in Arizona, the rural poor, the affluent and sickly? Or will I find a way to make a living as a health and wellness coach, eschewing the world of nursing altogether? I have great desire to be an entrepreneur, but the world of self-employment is not always what it's cracked up to be. However, with my wife as my business manager, I may stand a chance at significant success!
This time of travel and self-reflection is helping me to disengage mentally from the world of work and employment, allowing me a golden opportunity to dig deeply and decide how I want to spend my time and earn a living. There are so many roads from which to choose, and nursing is, as a matter of course, one of the easiest paths to trod.
Of course, when push comes to shove and money needs to be made, a job as a nurse will certainly pay the bills, but only time will tell if there is indeed a nursing job out there that can truly feed my soul, for that is what I have decided work should really do.
Nursing can be a soulful occupation, and if I can work as a nurse and be fulfilled in that endeavor, then I'll be ready to sign on the dotted line. Til then, I will continue to examine my occupational navel and unravel the riddle of figuring out just what will make my vocation more than simply a means to a financial end.
Showing posts with label clinic nursing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clinic nursing. Show all posts
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Office of the National Nurse and the Obama Administration
Now that Barack Obama has been elected and some changes in the trajectory of American healthcare are on the way, those of us who support the creation of an Office of the National Nurse are asking that citizens supportive of our cause please communicate that support to the Obama team. For a review of the importance of such an office, please see my previous blog post on the subject. To communicate your opinion to the Obama-Biden team, please click here.
While the current Chief Nurse Officer (CNO) of the United States serves as Assistant Surgeon General, many of us feel strongly that it is time for nurses to be taken seriously as key players in the development of far-reaching preventive measures to improve the health and well-being of the American people. Rather than have the CNO remain in a subservient role to the Surgeon General, giving the National Nurse a prominent, autonomous and equal part in the government's efforts vis-a-vis preventive healthcare would send a clear message that the nursing profession has finally received the recognition it deserves.
Nursing has a great deal to offer to the American healthcare system and to policy discussions vis-a-vis the changes that are needed to improve the health and well-being of all Americans. The establishment of the Office of the National Nurse would be a major step towards recognizing the profession of nursing for its contributions to medicine and health (separate and autonomous from the medical profession), and for moving the United States and its citizens towards improved self-care, improved health outcomes, and renewed standing as a country that views the health of its citizens as a true measure of "national security".
To send the Obama-Biden administration a message regarding this issue---or any issue close to your heart---simply click here to visit a special page for communicating your vision of America to the incoming administration. Your support for the establishment of an Office of the National Nurse would be greatly appreciated.
While the current Chief Nurse Officer (CNO) of the United States serves as Assistant Surgeon General, many of us feel strongly that it is time for nurses to be taken seriously as key players in the development of far-reaching preventive measures to improve the health and well-being of the American people. Rather than have the CNO remain in a subservient role to the Surgeon General, giving the National Nurse a prominent, autonomous and equal part in the government's efforts vis-a-vis preventive healthcare would send a clear message that the nursing profession has finally received the recognition it deserves.
Nursing has a great deal to offer to the American healthcare system and to policy discussions vis-a-vis the changes that are needed to improve the health and well-being of all Americans. The establishment of the Office of the National Nurse would be a major step towards recognizing the profession of nursing for its contributions to medicine and health (separate and autonomous from the medical profession), and for moving the United States and its citizens towards improved self-care, improved health outcomes, and renewed standing as a country that views the health of its citizens as a true measure of "national security".
To send the Obama-Biden administration a message regarding this issue---or any issue close to your heart---simply click here to visit a special page for communicating your vision of America to the incoming administration. Your support for the establishment of an Office of the National Nurse would be greatly appreciated.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Reflections on Doctors Reviewed in the NY Times
Reflections on Doctors, the recently-published book of non-fiction by nurses for which I was one of many contributors, has been reviewed for the New York Times by Dr. Abigail Zuger, M.D.
While Dr. Zuger is admittedly underwhelmed by the lack of "literary style" demonstrated by the book's contributors, she states that "each story represents a step in understanding the inherent differences that separate the professions".
Even as the reviewer points out that the relationships described would not elicit "a minute of good television" (an assertion which I reject out of hand), and that the authors "write in shades of gray, describing interactions and relationships that are colorless, courteous, [and] businesslike", the Dr. Zuger seems to conclude that good, thoughtful medical care is, on balance, the end result of nurses' thoughtful reflections on the care that they and their medical colleagues provide.
In the course of her review, Dr. Zuger does indeed bemoan the fact that "no doctor out there is planning to publish a manuscript entitled 'Reflections on Nurses' any time soon", stating that "I am assuming my colleagues concur that such a project would be best left for retirement incommunicado somewhere on a distant Pacific atoll, where the mailman never calls." Sadly, this statement belies the fact that many doctors simply do not take the time to consider the crucial role that nurses play in the delivery of medical care, or, as the reviewer asserts, are potentially concerned that angry letters would ensue whether praise or criticism were duly proffered.
As a nurse blogger, I can attest that some of the best interdisciplinary writing does indeed occur in the medical/nursing blogosphere, and perhaps it is in that venue where the one-way conversation begun in "Reflections on Doctors" can be openly and honestly continued.
However, I can attest that "Reflections on Doctors" is one more step in further elucidating the multifaceted relationships between nurses, doctors and surgeons. Such literary excursions can only serve to inform the public, empower nurses and doctors to communicate, and to open additional avenues for future discussion.
While Dr. Zuger is admittedly underwhelmed by the lack of "literary style" demonstrated by the book's contributors, she states that "each story represents a step in understanding the inherent differences that separate the professions".
Even as the reviewer points out that the relationships described would not elicit "a minute of good television" (an assertion which I reject out of hand), and that the authors "write in shades of gray, describing interactions and relationships that are colorless, courteous, [and] businesslike", the Dr. Zuger seems to conclude that good, thoughtful medical care is, on balance, the end result of nurses' thoughtful reflections on the care that they and their medical colleagues provide.
In the course of her review, Dr. Zuger does indeed bemoan the fact that "no doctor out there is planning to publish a manuscript entitled 'Reflections on Nurses' any time soon", stating that "I am assuming my colleagues concur that such a project would be best left for retirement incommunicado somewhere on a distant Pacific atoll, where the mailman never calls." Sadly, this statement belies the fact that many doctors simply do not take the time to consider the crucial role that nurses play in the delivery of medical care, or, as the reviewer asserts, are potentially concerned that angry letters would ensue whether praise or criticism were duly proffered.
As a nurse blogger, I can attest that some of the best interdisciplinary writing does indeed occur in the medical/nursing blogosphere, and perhaps it is in that venue where the one-way conversation begun in "Reflections on Doctors" can be openly and honestly continued.
However, I can attest that "Reflections on Doctors" is one more step in further elucidating the multifaceted relationships between nurses, doctors and surgeons. Such literary excursions can only serve to inform the public, empower nurses and doctors to communicate, and to open additional avenues for future discussion.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Public Health and Me
Tomorrow, I begin my position as interim Public Health Nurse right here in my own New England hometown. Having never worked in my town (after almost fifteen years of residence in the area), it will be an interesting experience to actually be a "public figure" for the first time.
While my position is indeed interim, I'm coming on board just at the beginning of flu season, and since I'm the individual who literally holds the key to the town's flu vaccine supply, I have an idea I am about to become very popular.
Understandably, everyone is anxious to get their flu shot. The elderly residents of the town see the annual flu clinic and make-up flu clinic as an inalienable right, and the government's push for the majority of Americans to be vaccinated this year has driven this point home quite widely. Town employees, police, EMTs and firefighters also need to be vaccinated quickly and efficiently in order to decrease the likelihood of such essential personnel being sickened over the winter.
With the CDC and other government agencies expecting this year's vaccine to be more effective than last year's, I'm expecting a great deal of interest in and around town vis-a-vis the influenza vaccine. Our clinics will most likely be very busy events, and I'll need to champion that cause and do it well.
Meanwhile, I'll be taking care of daily infectious disease surveillance, TB case management, as well as other sundry responsibilities that I guess I'll figure out tomorrow.
I start this new job knowing that I'm standing on the shoulders of Lillian Wald and other famous nurses who had the vision of actually creating the institution of public health nursing in the first place. It's an honor to enter this new arena of my profession/vocation, and I look forward to growing personally and professionally throughout the process.
While my position is indeed interim, I'm coming on board just at the beginning of flu season, and since I'm the individual who literally holds the key to the town's flu vaccine supply, I have an idea I am about to become very popular.
Understandably, everyone is anxious to get their flu shot. The elderly residents of the town see the annual flu clinic and make-up flu clinic as an inalienable right, and the government's push for the majority of Americans to be vaccinated this year has driven this point home quite widely. Town employees, police, EMTs and firefighters also need to be vaccinated quickly and efficiently in order to decrease the likelihood of such essential personnel being sickened over the winter.
With the CDC and other government agencies expecting this year's vaccine to be more effective than last year's, I'm expecting a great deal of interest in and around town vis-a-vis the influenza vaccine. Our clinics will most likely be very busy events, and I'll need to champion that cause and do it well.
Meanwhile, I'll be taking care of daily infectious disease surveillance, TB case management, as well as other sundry responsibilities that I guess I'll figure out tomorrow.
I start this new job knowing that I'm standing on the shoulders of Lillian Wald and other famous nurses who had the vision of actually creating the institution of public health nursing in the first place. It's an honor to enter this new arena of my profession/vocation, and I look forward to growing personally and professionally throughout the process.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The Nurse as Ogre
I enter the exam room with a tray in hand and a smile on my face. The tray holds four vaccinations, and my smile is a nervous one, since I know that in a few short minutes, the child squirming in her mother's arms will hate me.
"The doctor sent me in to give your daughter her shots," I say.
"Yes, she told me. Can you give her some Tylenol too?" the mother asks.
"Oh, yes, I have some here for her." I give the baby some Tylenol, and already she's eyeing me with suspicion.
"Here's some information on the vaccines. Do you have any questions?" Sometimes I hope the parent will refuse the vaccines, just so I can be spared the trauma of administering them, but my trauma is nothing compared to the child's.
I ask the mother to lay the child on the exam table, and now the baby starts to cry because she knows that something unusual is about to happen. She can also probably pick up on Mom's fear and my tension, and by now the child is gripped with terror.
Giving four or more vaccines at a time is always a drag. First, if the child is already walking, we like to give the shots in the arm so that he or she will not be discouraged from walking due to pain, but those young deltoids are so small. If the child is not yet walking, we go for the large thigh muscles, but I'm no fool, and I know that even if they're given in the leg, these vaccines burn like a really bad bee sting, at best.
When I clean the baby's thigh with alcohol, she begins to scream. And I mean blood-curdling. My stress level is already probably high because we just had an 11-year-old autistic boy pinned down in another room in order to give him a shot and draw some blood. He was strong, and he pulled his mother's hair so hard I thought he would rip it from her scalp. The vaccine was fine, but we couldn't draw his blood since he moved so much.
Anyway, the baby is screaming, and I still hear echoes in my head from the caterwauling autistic boy. I steady my nerves, and I give the baby two painful injections in each thigh, about 1 or 2 inches apart. She screams some more, and I apologize profusely and hope that she won't be deathly afraid of men with goatees forever. Maybe she will.
This ogre business is truly awful, and I leave the room feeling bad. These Tuesday nights at the clinic are no fun, and with two pediatricians working, there's no escaping the old vaccine drill. I make a mental note to ask Mary to remind me not to work Tuesday nights anymore----Thursdays are so much more preferable with the lack of pedi providers.
There are just simply things that some nurses hate to do. For one, it's tracheostomy care. For another, it's wounds. For me, it's vaccines on little kids. I just hate being an ogre, and I'd give anything to lay that mantle down once and for all.
"The doctor sent me in to give your daughter her shots," I say.
"Yes, she told me. Can you give her some Tylenol too?" the mother asks.
"Oh, yes, I have some here for her." I give the baby some Tylenol, and already she's eyeing me with suspicion.
"Here's some information on the vaccines. Do you have any questions?" Sometimes I hope the parent will refuse the vaccines, just so I can be spared the trauma of administering them, but my trauma is nothing compared to the child's.
I ask the mother to lay the child on the exam table, and now the baby starts to cry because she knows that something unusual is about to happen. She can also probably pick up on Mom's fear and my tension, and by now the child is gripped with terror.
Giving four or more vaccines at a time is always a drag. First, if the child is already walking, we like to give the shots in the arm so that he or she will not be discouraged from walking due to pain, but those young deltoids are so small. If the child is not yet walking, we go for the large thigh muscles, but I'm no fool, and I know that even if they're given in the leg, these vaccines burn like a really bad bee sting, at best.
When I clean the baby's thigh with alcohol, she begins to scream. And I mean blood-curdling. My stress level is already probably high because we just had an 11-year-old autistic boy pinned down in another room in order to give him a shot and draw some blood. He was strong, and he pulled his mother's hair so hard I thought he would rip it from her scalp. The vaccine was fine, but we couldn't draw his blood since he moved so much.
Anyway, the baby is screaming, and I still hear echoes in my head from the caterwauling autistic boy. I steady my nerves, and I give the baby two painful injections in each thigh, about 1 or 2 inches apart. She screams some more, and I apologize profusely and hope that she won't be deathly afraid of men with goatees forever. Maybe she will.
This ogre business is truly awful, and I leave the room feeling bad. These Tuesday nights at the clinic are no fun, and with two pediatricians working, there's no escaping the old vaccine drill. I make a mental note to ask Mary to remind me not to work Tuesday nights anymore----Thursdays are so much more preferable with the lack of pedi providers.
There are just simply things that some nurses hate to do. For one, it's tracheostomy care. For another, it's wounds. For me, it's vaccines on little kids. I just hate being an ogre, and I'd give anything to lay that mantle down once and for all.
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