Obama, Rock Star for Nurses

By Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN interim editor-in-chief (sent yesterday from her Iphone)

So it’s Wednesday afternoon, June 16, and I’m here in Washington, DC, attending the 2010 House of Delegates meeting of the American Nurses Association (ANA). It’s easy to find the sessions—one just has to follow all the middle-aged women walking in one direction through the lobby (full disclosure: that includes me).

ANA president Rebecca Patton opened the session and announced that there would be a “special surprise guest.” She got about halfway through announcements about parliamentary procedure, using the electronic voting machines, and the other housekeeping details when I noticed a rather large muscular young man with an earpiece slip in the door near me. I noticed several clones of him at each exit. Our “special guest” had arrived.

Patton introduced President Barack Obama and he received a rock star welcome from the approximately 800 attendees. He said he came because he promised he would if nurses supported his campaign and he won the presidential election. He proclaimed, “I love nurses.” (I wonder: when he goes to other groups, does he say, “I love physicians” or “I love auto workers”?) He retold the story of how nurses took care of his wife and daughters when his daughters were born and how the nurses “got him through” when one of his daughters had meningitis and how they gave her such good care.

Obama then spoke about the changes in health care brought about by the Patient […]

2016-11-21T13:17:11-05:00June 17th, 2010|career, nursing perspective|2 Comments
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The Long Fall

I wish I could make sense out of why these events unfold on days that start out completely ordinary. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that our lives and goodbyes are completely unpredictable. And it occurs to me that, regardless of the starting height, all falls are “long falls,” and they all happen way too fast.

2016-11-21T13:17:13-05:00June 16th, 2010|Nursing, nursing stories|1 Comment
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Do You Have to Like People To Be a Good Nurse?

When I began nursing school I was confident that I’d enjoy being a nurse because I already liked being a waitress. I imagine that you’re already groaning, but hear me out. I had traits that served me well when I put food and drinks on the table: I was smart and organized, I learned quickly, I was usually able to rescue disastrous situations, and I liked people and wanted to make them happy.

That last characteristic is a secret that most of us nurses keep to ourselves as we emphasize the more cerebral nursing traits—the critical thinking, the autonomy, the professional skills.

That’s the start of an essay called “Nurse, Where’s My Lunch?” by the accomplished nurse and writer Christine Contillo in the June issue of AJN. It’s about some of the human pleasures of being a nurse, the deep human encounters you remember many years later. Is there a temperament best suited for nursing? And how do you define competence? Is it all just a matter of mastering “cerebral” technical skills? Or is there more?



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2016-11-21T13:17:16-05:00June 10th, 2010|career, nursing perspective|1 Comment
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What Nurses Told Us About How They Relax

We recently posed the following question on AJN’s Twitter page: “RNs: we want to know: how do you relax?” Some of the answers are below. Exercise is one biggie, at least among those who answered. (Are Twitterers more exercise-prone than non-Twitterers? Hmmm….) Anything you’d like to add to our unscientific list of ways to relax? (If for any reason you mind us citing your Twitter self here, please let us know and we will remove your comment!)

Safety4Nurses @AmJNurs I was recently reminded by my 6 month old puppy that play time and naps are important for relaxation!

ErinRN @AmJNurs relax with hot bath, alcohol, reading, and favorite tv show (not all at once, ha!)

lydiasmith@AmJNurs Prayer, music, going out dancing, and cooking. Psychosociospiritual and physical modes! Practice what we preach.

andrealgilmore @AmJNurs: #1 getting off the floor & outside if possible. #2 balancing work with family & me time. #3 exercise and last but not least, TEA.

WendyGlosser @AmJNurs I jump in my pool but also have a photography business on the side that allows me to escape a few times a week.

superjenie RT @AmJNurs: RNs: we want to know: how do you relax? –LOL do we nurses ever relax?? :))

LiveLaughLetGo @AmJNurs The best way for me is to run, but also hanging with friends and family.

ThaRizz0 @AmJNurs As an RN I find time to exercise and push […]

2016-11-21T13:17:19-05:00June 9th, 2010|career, nursing perspective, personal health practices|2 Comments
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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