nursing perspective Archives

Is It Possible to Delight in the Work of Nursing?

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In a recent conversation I had with a very young nurse, she shared about her hope and deep desire to “be a good nurse.” I picked up on the stress in her voice as she described her admiration for her preceptor and her feeling of being overwhelmed with the steep learning curve during orientation. I couldn’t help but wonder how she defined a “good nurse,” and whether that definition was realistic or oppressive.

This prompted me to ask the question in my social media circles, “How would you describe a good nurse?” I wanted to hear from both health care workers as well as people who were not.

There were a lot of responses, but one that stood out to me from a friend who is not in health care was this:

“Delights in their work and does it with excellence.”

This stood out because I rarely hear nurses talk these days about delighting in their work. After all, I remember my own recent response to a good friend when she casually asked me how work was going. I paused as I always do when trying to answer that question. After a few moments, my response to her was, “It’s always hard to know how to answer that. . […]

Hui-wen Sato, MSN, MPH, RN, CCRN2026-08-03T14:43:12-04:00August 3rd, 2026|Nursing, nursing perspective, Patients, pediatrics|2 Comments

What ‘Stronger Than Chemo’ Means

During a safety huddle, one of my colleagues, an oncology nurse and breast cancer survivor, spoke honestly about what cancer felt like to her. “Every day you’re scared. Is the treatment or the cancer going to kill me?” she said. “You think about it all the time.” Her words struck me because of how open and exposed they felt. There was nothing polished or inspirational about them. Just honesty.

For oncology nurses, a day at work may feel like another clinic day, another infusion, another patient assignment. But patients walk into the same space carrying entirely different realities. Fear. Grief. Uncertainty. Hope. Devastating news. Relief. Sometimes all at once. Her words reminded me how important it is to respect that difference and remain mindful of it.

I remember entering a patient’s room smiling ear to ear. She asked me why I was so happy. Without thinking, I answered, “It’s a good day.” Looking back, that response feels insensitive. I later learned that earlier that day she had been told her cancer was metastatic. Shortly after I left the room, I heard her sobbing behind the curtain. That moment stayed with me because what felt like an ordinary good day to me was one […]

Guest Author2026-06-15T09:57:20-04:00June 15th, 2026|Nursing, nursing perspective, Oncology nursing, patient experience, Patients|1 Comment

How to Keep Caring Without Breaking

Recently, a nurse asked publicly how others cope with empathy fatigue.

It struck me that the question itself was brave.

Empathy fatigue (more often called compassion fatigue) is easy to mislabel. It can present as irritability, detachment, or impatience. It can look like burnout. It can feel like failure. But often, it is something quieter and more specific: the accumulation of caring deeply for a long time.

The subtle internal shift signaling empathy fatigue.

The most dangerous part of empathy fatigue isn’t exhaustion. It’s the subtle shift.

It’s the moment you feel yourself pulling back. The internal eye roll that surprises you. The thought you don’t like having. The faint edge of resentment where compassion once felt natural.

That shift is uncomfortable. But it is also a signal.

In oncology, relationships are not brief. We see patients repeatedly. We learn their children’s names. We know when scans are coming. We recognize the weight in their voices before they say anything at all. Over time, that proximity to suffering accumulates. Grief does not arrive all at once. It layers.

Empathy fatigue is not evidence that we care less. It is often evidence that we have cared continuously.

Left unnamed, however, it can harden into something else. Resentment is not dramatic; it is […]

Guest Author2026-03-17T11:25:37-04:00March 17th, 2026|Nursing, nursing perspective, Oncology nursing|0 Comments

When Professional Organizations Are Out of Sync With the Needs of Nurses

The views expressed in this post are those of the author, and do not represent the views of their employers or affiliated institutions, or of AJN and Wolters Kluwer.

One of the many lessons my veteran father taught me was this: actions tell you what a person believes in, and you should believe people when they show you what they believe. This principle applies not just to individuals, but also to organizations run by groups of like-minded people.

Many of our national nursing advocacy organizations, like the American Nurses Association (ANA), National League for Nursing (NLN), and others have been complacent in many arenas of nursing advocacy for far too long. Nurses are more burned out than ever, bedside nurse wages have stagnated, the costs of both health care and education continue to balloon, and there is an ongoing epidemic of violence against health care professionals and citizens alike. I find myself reflecting upon my own efforts to address any of these issues faced by my fellow nurses or community, and I cannot help but look to the largest and most powerful nursing organizations with disappointment at their inaction on even the most straightforward issues.

When professional organizations fall short.

Sure, nursing organizations are good at issuing reports and recommendations. For example, in 2025 a new version of the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses was published. Commitment to society and social justice is one of the provisions, including an ethical obligation for both nurses and their professional […]

Guest Author2026-05-04T09:50:31-04:00March 9th, 2026|Ethics, Nursing, nursing perspective|1 Comment

Nurses Have an Ethical Obligation to Demand Accountability for ICE Violence

The views expressed in this post are those of the authors, and do not represent the views of their employers or affiliated institutions, or of AJN and Wolters Kluwer.

On January 24, 2026, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents in Minneapolis shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse who worked in the intensive care unit at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Alex died while upholding core nursing values of helping and supporting his community. While standing in opposition to the tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis, he was directing traffic and helping a woman being pepper-sprayed by CBP. These actions should not have cost him his life. It is now time for us, fellow nurses and leaders, to follow Alex Pretti’s example by advocating for our communities and upholding the core ethical principles of our discipline, including justice, beneficence, and nonmaleficence.