About Julianna Paradisi, RN, OCN

Julianna Paradisi, RN, OCN, finds inspiration where science, humanity, and art converge, creating compelling images as both a writer and a painter. She is the author of https://jparadisirn.com/, and also blogs frequently for http://www.theonc.org/ and https://ajnoffthecharts.com/, the blog of the American Journal of Nursing (AJN).

Marijuana Legalization and Potential Workplace Pitfalls for Nurses Who Partake

Julianna Paradisi, RN, OCN, writes a monthly post for this blog and works as an infusion nurse in outpatient oncology.

Mount Hood, Oregon as seen from the Washington State side of the Columbia River Gorge/photo by Julianna Paradisi Mount Hood, Oregon, as seen from the Washington State side of the Columbia River Gorge/photo by Julianna Paradisi

Wednesday, July 9, 2014, marked the first day of legal, recreational marijuana sales in the state of Washington, not long behind similar new laws in Colorado earlier this year. As in Colorado, the marijuana supply in Washington was initially insufficient to keep up with demand; stores ran out of cannabis before all customers waiting hours in line got through the front door.

The following weekend, my husband and I (we live in Portland, Oregon) took a road trip through the Columbia Gorge on the Washington side of the river.

“Hey, we could buy a joint here, and share it,” I joked. (Neither of us actually partakes.)

My husband, a pharmacist, remarked, “It may be legal, but testing positive at work could get either of us fired or invite state board investigation.”

For my husband and me, as Oregon residents, the point is moot: no amount of THC in our urine or blood is legal. For Washington and Colorado residents, […]

2021-01-05T09:58:18-05:00July 30th, 2014|Nursing|31 Comments
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Life Drawing

Julianna Paradisi, RN, OCN, writes a monthly post for this blog and works as an infusion nurse in outpatient oncology.

by julianna paradisi - all rights reserved by julianna paradisi – all rights reserved

With one double-gloved hand I pull the unblemished skin of her buttock laterally. Holding a syringe in the other, I pierce the large muscle with a needle, injecting acid-yellow methotrexate deep inside. Its purpose is to deplete the tiny, nonviable embryo inside her of folic acid, preventing its growth, a rupture, and potential harm to the woman.

Usually I administer chemotherapy to stop the life cycle of tumors, not the rapidly dividing cells of an embryo that missed its mark, mistakenly lodged in a fallopian tube instead of finding its way into her uterus where both of them could have been safe. Ectopic, it sacrificed viability, and threatens the life of its host.

Prone on the stretcher after the twin injections, she cries quietly. I hand her a box of tissues. She blows her nose. I try to think of something comforting to say, something that lets her know this is sad for me too. Resources are limited, so the powers that be decided that the safety provided by a chemotherapy-certified nurse outweighs the education, skill, and emotional support provided by an obstetrics nurse. Most likely they’re right, […]

2016-11-21T13:04:31-05:00June 11th, 2014|career, nursing perspective|4 Comments
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Compelled by Professionalism

Julianna Paradisi, RN, OCN, writes a monthly post for this blog and works as an infusion nurse in outpatient oncology.

ParadisiThanksIllustration“Ah, Julianna.”

This greeting from a physician marked my arrival at work. I assumed he was about to give me information or an order about one of our patients. I prepared myself for the forthcoming shift—”Ready or not, here it comes.”

Instead, he did something completely unexpected. Quickly retreating to his office, he reappeared, extending towards me a bright blue envelope with my name neatly written on the back.

It contained a greeting card. Not the generic kind hospitals provide managers in bulk for staff recognition. Not the “You’ve Been Caught Doing Something Fabulous!” quarter page–sized certificates available in the staff lounge for coworkers to fill out in recognition of their peers. This was a genuine, bona fide greeting card, the kind you have to go to a store and select from a rack and purchase. Inside, he’d addressed it to me again, with a personal note in handwriting, shattering the long-held belief that physicians cannot write legibly in cursive.

Being thanked by a physician for an act of nursing I had provided for his patient isn’t what caught me off guard. During my years of practice, many physicians have verbally expressed appreciation for my nursing skills. A half-dozen have even apologized for disagreeing with an assessment of mine (only to find out […]

2016-11-21T13:04:52-05:00April 30th, 2014|career, nursing perspective|1 Comment
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Three Nurses and a Doctor Go Sailing – Some Notes on Communication Style

Julianna Paradisi, RN, OCN, writes a monthly post for this blog and works as an infusion nurse in outpatient oncology.

Untitled from the series, Pareidolia. Charcoal and graphite on paper, 12" x 9," by julianna paradisi Untitled from the series, Pareidolia. Charcoal and graphite on paper,
12″ x 9,” by julianna paradisi

There’s an old joke about the personality differences among nurses of different specialties. It goes like this:

A medical–surgical nurse, an ICU nurse, an ER nurse, and a doctor go sailing. The doctor stands at the bow of the boat and shouts to the nurses, “Trim the sail!”

The med–surg nurse asks, “How do you want it?”

The ICU nurse replies, “I’ll trim, okay. But I’m doing it my way.”

The ER nurse shouts back at the doctor, “Trim the sail yourself!”

ICU style. The joke is a generalization, of course. However, I was a pediatric intensive care nurse once upon a time, and I have to admit that the ICU nurse characterization resonates with my own experience. Like the nurse in the joke, I always have an opinion, and rarely mind sharing it. In the ICU, if another nurse, a physician, a pharmacist, or respiratory therapist didn’t agree, conversation ensued. My colleague, equally opinionated, would state her or his position. Data was consulted, […]

2016-11-21T13:05:08-05:00March 24th, 2014|career, nursing perspective|2 Comments
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Voice of Dissension: When Nurse Teamwork and Patient Safety Diverge

ParadisiIllustrationDissension Dissension (from the series Pareidolia), charcoal & graphite on paper, 12″ x 9,”
2012 by Julianna Paradisi

Julianna Paradisi, RN, OCN, writes a monthly post for this blog and works as an infusion nurse in outpatient oncology. The illustration of this post is by the author.

The term “voice” gets thrown around a lot these days, usually in reference to creative content. Visual artists, writers, musicians, and actors rise to their unique place in the art world on the originality of their voice, not merely for mastery and talent.

In nursing, voice is important too. Hospitals spend a small fortune in paid staff hours for team-building meetings or retreats for nurses to smooth the rough edges of staff members, reducing friction among unit nurses with the ultimate goals of nurse retention and improved patient care. While these are admirable goals, I’m beginning to wonder if too much emphasis on team building may also diminish a nurse’s unique voice, thereby inadvertently interfering with patient safety? A team is only as strong as its individual members. […]

2016-11-21T13:05:33-05:00January 29th, 2014|career, nursing perspective, patient safety|4 Comments
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