Paper
Halls C & D (Indiana Convention Center)
Saturday, November 12, 2005
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Halls C & D (Indiana Convention Center)
Sunday, November 13, 2005
7:00 AM - 8:00 AM
Halls C & D (Indiana Convention Center)
Sunday, November 13, 2005
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
This presentation is part of : Creative and Expressive Arts in Nursing
Addendum to the Above - Poetic Expressions in Nursing
Katie L. Haste, APRN, MSN, AHN-C, Nursing, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT, USA

While the raw and complex interactions nurses have with patients is often described as the defining reward of nursing, it can also be emotionally difficult to processes each experience. Developing coping mechanisms is therefore crucial to the wellbeing of each nurse, and poetry can be a beautiful catharsis in that process. One poem I previously published allowed for the exploration of the spirituality and cyclical nature of providing hospice care. This allowed me to concretely express a grandly existential experience. Other hospice nurses noted that it not only matched their experiences, but actually helped them to better understand and articulate it. The poem presented here is from my first visit to Zambia, Africa, not only one of the poorest countries in the world but also one that is severely impacted by AIDS. I was there to help at an AIDS clinic, but was so overwhelmed by the sights, emotions, and stories that I had to write out my experience in some way. The juxtaposition of poverty and disease being surrounded by so much happiness, friendliness, and beauty that this poem needed to be written not just for my own wellbeing but so I could better share my experience with others when I came home. Although this poem speaks little of actual nursing, it contributes greatly to understanding the experience of traveling to a country so profoundly different from my own. I have shared this poem with nurses both informally and formally when giving presentations on nursing abroad. Many were not only moved emotionally, but several have been moved to act by contributing financially, donating their time and skill, and one even confirmed her plan to adopt. Poetry is one way to empower nurses to not only process inspiring interactions, but to help us share our experiences and better define nursing.