Poetry: it can be utilized as a healthy means by which the nursing professional processes his/her nursing experiences. In effectively doing so, the nurse is better able to be present and provide optimally for the patient.
Nursing: It is to nurture. It is to assist our patients as they attempt to heal themselves. I am privileged to refer to myself as a nurse and I am thankful and respectful for all of my nursing experiences, both the tragic and the wonderfully profound. For, it is through my nursing experiences that I learn so much about life and about myself. Our patients provide for us the ‘cliff notes’ of life, if we choose to acknowledge this. This is a wonderful gift. Our patients expose their very core to us as they vulnerably reach out for the anchor that we provide. Let us recognize and respect their vulnerability. Let us feel what they feel. It is through this connectedness, our here-and-now unconditional presence that we are able to perform and provide for our patients. However, it is just as important that the nurse not lose himself/herself in this process. How does the nurse process and debrief the sometimes gruesome and often confusing experiences that we encounter each day? It is my experience and, therefore, my suggestion that a nursing professional try poetry as a means of self-expressing and processing his/her nursing experiences. Poetry provides a means of expressing, reflecting, enhancing and sharing our perceived nursing experiences.
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