Who Nurtures the Nurse?

By Rebecca Kenyon Kenyon R.N. B.S.N.

Through a collection of stories told by nurses in their own words, the book addresses why nurses are nurses, and why patients love them. Nurses are the glue that hold the medical process together. Patients, some with family support and others without, are in a strange and scary environment. Nurses help to combat those fears and anxieties that all patients and families have.
These stories are from nurses young and old, and about the special patients in their lives. Patients are the reason most of us go into nursing. It certainly isn't about the money or fame. It is about caring, walking that patient and their family, through the process of illness and the unknown, to the next stage. Sometimes that stage has a positive outcome and sometimes not. As nurses we celebrate with the patients and their families and sometimes we grieve with them.
All of us who have been care givers have memories of some of our patients and their families. Maybe we even stay in touch with them. I am still in touch with Ruby, the 97 year old widow of George, one of my first patients. Ruby and George are why I went into nursing. Ruby's love and support of me was a nurturing force in my walk through those sterile white halls everyday. It's what kept me going.
Who is your Ruby? Who nurtures the nurse in you???

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781483568683

Book preview

nurse.

CHAPTER ONE:

Nursing is a many-faceted profession

As nurses, we serve the needs of our patients, their families and our team members. These stories are dedicated to you nurses who, with heart and courage, sit at the bedside of fearful patients, comforting them or just holding them, giving them hope in a way that cannot be expressed in words. Nursing is more than a job; it is a passion and a precious gift.

You may have always known you had the gift. Or perhaps you came to the realization later in life that nursing is your calling. You can sense the pain of others, their fears, their worries. You feel great satisfaction when you can break through those uncertainties with a gentle touch, an explanation of what to expect, or just a smiling face when the world seems so dark. You are a nurse. You matter! Nurses are strong, smart and resilient and often are the ones that must be the advocate for the patient and his family. This book, filled with stories of love, hope and dedication will remind you that you are that nurse, the one looking back at you from your own mirror.

Nursing is a balancing act

Expert medical treatment must be balanced with compassion and a personal touch. Administering medications and hanging IVs vie for time with attentive listening and a gentle bedside manner. A person is at his most vulnerable when in pain and dressed in a hospital gown. Clear and direct communication is vital so doctor, patient and family members are on the same page. A nurse can relieve fear and stress by serving as translator of medical-speak between doctor and patient and by anticipating and explaining procedures and their potential outcomes. Ideally, those discussions would take place as often as necessary to allow the patient to feel comfortable with the level of care he is receiving but frustrating to both the nurse and the patient, there are not enough hours in the day.

Nursing