Louise - Opening the Forgotten Windows

Louise -







Opinionated. Crabby. Negative. Stubborn.

Those are the words I would have used to describe myself as I began my nursing career – not really the qualities most people are looking for in a co-worker or caregiver.

But now, I look at myself much differently. It began when I was an evening charge nurge on a Medical/Surgical floor. I had this wonderful supervisor who said, “I’m putting you in charge. I want you to help gather the data to make change in the hospital.” Up to that point, people in the hospital hated to see me coming. They’d say, “Oh my God, 3:00 to 11:00…oh no, Louise is here again!” But during that training on being a change agent, I transformed into a positive leader in the nursing department.

While growing up, I was the caregiver in the family, but I also abhorred structure of any kind. Making it through school and working within the regimented confines of a hospital setting were very difficult for me. I am a global thinker who looks at the whole picture, looks to the future. So I’m not a typical nurse. I am not a concrete sequential thinker – I’m an abstract thinker.

Initially, I was driven to choose nursing by the urge to compete with my younger sister, who found a career in the profession first. And at the time I thought, “Well, I’ll do this for a couple of years, and then I’ll be done with it.” Then I stayed for the care and compassion I had to give.

Through experience and reflection, I realized that part of the problem I had with the structure of nursing in a hospital setting was the limitation placed on the type of care I was permitted to give my patients. "I think that I expected nursing to be more of a career, not such a gift back to me of personal growth."The expectation was to care for patients’ physical needs, not to relate to them or nurture their other needs. But I usually see beyond the physical into the spiritual realm of the person. With the guidance of a supervisor and some life experience under my belt, I began to shed my resistance to the structure and find my own style of nursing practice.

Life has taught me that we are all learning from each other. That’s the gift we have to give to new nurses and to share with our peers. I might have something to share with you, but I know you have something to share with me.

I’ve come to view myself as a seed-sower of ideas about life and health. Giving patients other ideas about their care, other than those they may have thought of, is something I enjoy doing. Patients may not be ready to take a look at something different for themselves, but if I present the options, the different opportunities for them to consider, when they are ready, they have more choices. It’s about taking care of them in a different framework – that’s what I define as spiritual care.

Through my changed perspective, I found my fit and my relationships with nurses became more reciprocal, and we began to learn from each other. My relationships with doctors became more mutually respectful. I found a way to understand why they made the decisions they did, and I was able to share their point of view, too. It made a difference in the care I could give, as well as in my outlook.

Ten years ago I discovered the forgotten windows of opportunities available to me. With the rediscovery in finding windows versus glass ceilings, I began my exploration. I started my own nurse consulting business for daycares. I began working in obstetrics and found a renewed passion caring for mothers and babies. There is joy in looking outside of myself to help mothers with babies begin to fulfill their dreams.

All of a sudden, I’m feeling that it’s important to share on multiple levels, and to share the dream. During a recent presentation to a group of student nurses I said, “Follow your dream. And if it changes, find another one.” I want to encourage people, especially nurses, to find that spiritual place where they can share, where they can reach out and touch someone else, whether it’s working with pediatric patients, giving mothers and fathers hope, or working with a dying patient. I want to help others open their window to explore what’s here and what’s beyond.

I’ve opened the windows for others to flourish, and by doing that I, too, have evolved. I think that I expected nursing to be more of a career, not such a gift back to me of personal growth.

Power Strategy: Autonomy, Inspiration, Honor
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