By Annalisa Ochoa, for AJN. All rights reserved.
Two years ago, when I was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in the ED of a large urban hospital, I asked a nurse if I could borrow her cell phone. Without hesitation, she handed me her Blackberry—this simple gesture was a first indication of the solidarity I’d come to feel with the nurses whose kindnesses have helped me heal.
We think it’s important to sometimes include a patient perspective in our monthly Reflections essay. “The Nurse Who Changed My Treatment,” the June Reflections essay, is by Nila Webster, who writes about the gestures by nurses, the little kindnesses and words of wisdom and encouragement, that helped her during her treatment for lung cancer and made her feel seen and understood. The essay is free, and short, so please click the link and give it a read.—JM, senior editor
‘The Nurse Who Changed My Treatment’
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About the Author: Jacob Molyneux, senior editor/blog editor
Senior editor, American Journal of Nursing; editor of AJN Off the Charts.
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As a retired nurse I am so grateful to read this and other things that affirm that Nurses do much more than give medications to patients. I am grateful that just a few minutes of interaction can bring such a big change in another person’s life.
Dorothy