Learning to Serve Others: The Key to Happiness

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgdhsjZ_CyY]

With Veterans Day tomorrow, it seems appropriate to highlight the achievements of Charles Kaiman, an artist and a clinical nurse specialist in psychiatric mental health who works with veterans, primarily those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Kaiman recently received the Excellence in Behavioral Health Nursing Award at the 2011 New Mexico Nursing Excellence Awards for his work as a caregiver for veterans at the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Albuquerque.

In this video interview, posted on YouTube by KASA FOX 2, an affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Kaiman speaks about how he decided to become a nurse, the symptoms of and treatment strategies for PTSD, and what he sees day to day while working with Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans—an experience he calls “one of the most rewarding” of his life.

When asked why he became a nurse, Kaiman said he was first inspired when he was 10 years old, reading a book by Albert Schweitzer that argued no one could be happy unless they learned to serve others. Later, when Kaiman was trying to make ends meet as an artist, his father suggested becoming a nurse because he would “never be out of work.” And his father was right.

Kaiman has now worked as a nurse for 31 years, 26 of those specifically with veterans. When asked about the rewards of helping others and what he would say to those interested in entering the nursing profession, his answer was clear:

“I can’t believe I get paid for this. […]

2016-11-21T13:11:28-05:00November 10th, 2011|Nursing|1 Comment
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Today is Veteran’s Day . . .

By Shawn Kennedy, Interim EIC of AJN

 . . . and unfortunately, because of conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, there will be many more veterans of war and its brutality. And there will also be many more families who struggle with the stress of having a family member deployed, often to dangerous places.

In this month’s issue of AJN, Erin Gabany and Teresa Shellenbarger, authors of the feature article “Caring for Families with Deployment Stress,” note that “deployment was found to have a markedly negative effect on health and well-being, with spouses reporting loneliness, anxiety, and depression in 78.2%, 51.6%, and 42.6% of all cases, respectively.” And just this week, a study published in the journal Pediatrics reports that, among children ages three to eight, “[m]ental and behavioral health visits increased by 11% in these children when a military parent deployed; behavioral disorders increased 19% and stress disorders increased 18%.”

While nurses in the military may be aware of the demands and stresses on active duty military families, civilian nurses may not be—and they are the ones who are likely to see the families of the many reserve and National Guard troops now deployed. We’re pleased to be publishing Gabany and Shellenbarger’s article, and hope it will increase  awareness of the issues many families face and help nurses provide support to these families.  

Nurses, too, are being deployed in large numbers; many, like army nurse Major Christopher Vanfossen, author of our new […]

2016-11-21T13:15:01-05:00November 11th, 2010|Nursing|0 Comments
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Have ‘Mercy’! One Nurse’s Take on the Latest Nurse Drama

MercyScreenshotBy Peggy McDaniel, BSN, RN

As a long-time fan of ER and Grey’s Anatomy, I looked forward to watching the first episode of Mercy, an NBC drama that focuses on three nurses instead of using doctors as the primary characters (click the image to visit the show’s Website, where you can check out the first episode). At the same time, while I’ve often laughed aloud at the tasks doctors are seen doing on Grey’s Anatomy, such as putting patients through a CT scan, it’s the characters that make the show compelling—and as a clinician, I choose to enjoy them and ignore that you rarely see a nurse at the bedside.

ER, unlike Grey’s Anatomy, featured what I would consider “real” nurses doing “real” nursing tasks backed by intelligence, education, and intuition. Maybe it made a difference that it was originally created by Michael Crichton, a doctor who obviously knew something about what happens in a clinical setting. ER skillfully blended clinical action and personal stories of strong, engaging characters. As a clinician, I loved the accuracy and drama.

I have mixed feelings about Mercy. The first episode introduced the characters, who appeared to be at least interesting, if not scintillating. Veronica, the primary character, suffers from PTSD after her return from service in Iraq. While she showed […]

2016-11-21T13:22:09-05:00September 25th, 2009|career, nursing perspective|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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