"I was being a nurse!"

During a discussion about World AIDS Day, I was asked why I had decided to become an HIV/AIDS clinician and researcher at a time when choosing such a career was not popular. The answer was simple: When I was a nursing student, I encountered, during an evening clinical, a young woman diagnosed with AIDS and was told that we were not allowed to provide care to her. You see, we had minimal instruction back then about providing nursing care to those diagnosed with AIDS.

I was aware of the stigma this young woman was experiencing, evidenced visibly by the sign on her door indicating she had AIDS. Being the inquisitive student, I meandered over toward her room because I could hear she was in distress. I opened the door and saw she had dropped her fork on the floor and was clearly too weak to pick it up. Smiling at her, I told her I would take care of it, not to worry. I removed her tray, warmed up her food and retrieved new silverware. When I returned to her room, I sat and fed her, as she was clearly too weak to feed herself. I remember she looked so sad and distraught and wanted desperately to touch my hand. So, as I fed her, she held my hand and just said, “Thank you.”

Upon leaving her room, I was greeted by my instructor, who inquired about my presence in this patient’s room. She did not look too happy. I could feel the eyes of others upon me, and I responded, almost instinctively, “I was being a nurse!” I knew I would receive some corrective counseling, but that young woman’s eyes haunted me, and I vowed I would never let another person with HIV/AIDS endure such treatment.

That moment was my epiphany, as I intuitively knew this was my calling and that, whatever lay ahead, somehow this encounter was preparing me for what was to come.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.

Snap to it, nurses!

The other day, a colleague and I were commiserating on challenges encountered during our time as nursing students. We had some tough times, we agreed, but had to admit there were nurses who were terrific role models and simply unforgettable. As we reminisced, I shared an experience I had as a senior nursing student during a clinical rotation on a telemetry unit.

The culture on the unit was that, when a physician came to the floor, the nurses were expected to give up their seats and clear the nursing station. I had witnessed this numerous times and thought it was not only silly but also demeaning to our profession. I could not figure out why the nurses were so afraid to continue their charting or stay in their seats, and I decided it was time for action. I intentionally did not tell my classmates about my plan, because I feared it might get back to my clinical instructor. Nevertheless, I believed it was the right thing to do.

The next morning, after I had completed a.m. care and administered medications, I was standing near my patient’s door, looking over my notes, when I heard one of the nurses say, “Here he comes!” As I watched them clear the area, I thought, “How could they leave me standing here alone?” and my heart started racing. This particular physician was known for snapping his fingers to get your attention, or if he wanted you to follow him into a patient’s room. As he approached, I watched out of the corner of my eye. In typical fashion, he did not speak as he began poring through the charts, but a moment later, I felt him staring at me.

Then it happened. Snap, snap, snap went his fingers, and I vividly recall feeling fright, and a compulsion to flight. After all, I was a student. I heard it again: Snap, snap, snap! “Didn’t you hear me call you?” he asked.

I cannot tell you from where I mustered the courage but, having seen enough, I responded, “Yes, I heard you snapping your fingers, but let me introduce myself. My name is Chris, and I am a senior nursing student.” Looking quite stunned, he said, “Well, Chris, could you give me an update on Patient X?” and I said, “Sure.” Upon leaving, he patted me on the back, and smiled.

What happened the following day was even more remarkable. When he came back to the unit, he said, “Hello, Chris. Want to go on rounds with me?” Everyone looked shocked! For the moment, finger snapping was history, and I began to see a gradual shift toward more assertive behavior from the nurses. So you see, Gandhi had it right. The best course of action is to “be the change you wish to see.”

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.

Nursing fundamentals: A lesson in persistence

Do you have a professor or instructor who left an indelible footprint that shaped the trajectory of your nursing journey? As you ponder, let me tell you about my fundamentals of nursing instructor who introduced me to the proper method for making a bed. I will call her Mary. She was a business-like instructor who operated with precision in the lab.

For you nurses, remember how we had to learn to change both an occupied and unoccupied bed? As I write this, I recall my trepidation, because I both feared and admired Mary. Besides my mom, she was the first woman to reinforce for me the seriousness of bed-making. However, she went further. She stipulated, “Do it in less than five minutes!” and she strictly adhered to that time frame.

Mary told me I would struggle in nursing if I did not master the art of making a bed in less than five minutes. Well, I was determined to master this skill, and Mary, who took a liking to me, kept me in the lab until I had perfected it, and I did. I must admit, I struggled to understand her obsession with quickly making a bed. However, as I grew older, I had an epiphany. Yes, the bed-making was important but, more importantly, Mary taught me the art of elegant persistence in every aspect of nursing practice. Who would have thought a remedial lesson on bed-making would later serve a larger purpose, to remind me it is persistence that exemplifies the elegance of nursing practice?

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.