Nurse's Story: Nancy - Not Everything that Counts can be Counted

Nancy -







When I was about eight years old, my sister fell and sustained a serious head injury. My mother immediately called the nurses who lived in our neighborhood. This nurse came on the scene and managed everything beautifully – calmed my mother down, put my sister in the car, transported her to the hospital, and kept in touch with my mother by phone to let her know what was happening so that my mother could stay with her other children.

For a relatively young child, that made a big impression on me. This nurse just seemed to know exactly what to do, but at the same time had such a calming influence on my mother. It wasn’t just that she cared for my sister. She was able to look at what was going on with the rest of my family, too. It was really inspirational to me to see that combination of intelligence and caring, but it would be years before I would be able to articulate why that was so. (IS THE CALMING INFLUENCE THE REASON WHY IT WAS SO INSPIRATIONAL?).

In college, I started out as a Music major. I’ve always loved music, and even to this day I still play (WHICH INSTRUMENT?) whenever I get the chance. At the time, I was juggling several part-time jobs while going to school, and it wasn’t working out very well. Eventually I got a job as a ward clerk in the local hospital to replace all the other jobs. That really was my first exposure to nursing as a practice, and I found it extremely enlightening.

The nurses’ work on that ward made the difference between life and death in many cases and provided people with comfort and dignity along the way.“I like to help people understand the impact of just their physical presence..” It was also the sixties, an era when many people were trying to do socially relevant work. What could be more socially relevant than using your brain to care for another human being’s health? My university was just starting a bachelor’s in Nursing program, and I ended up applying for it. So Nursing became my major, but I was able to get a minor in music, too.

I ended up going all the way to get my PhD, which I never would have imagined when I first began my studies. I have taught nurses, and now I advise them as the Dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Washington. Through the years, I have probably influenced thousands of nurses going into the field through my various roles. I like to help people understand the impact of just their physical presence. Imagine the comfort we can offer by simply being there as a patient goes through a difficult procedure or hears an unwelcomed diagnosis.

It was Albert Einstein who said, “Not everything that counts can be counted,” and I believe that applies to the care that nurses provide. As the health care system goes through changes in this country, some will be looking to quantify the work that nurses do, to turn it into billing codes. But how will physical presence be billed? What code will they give “being there” at the patient’s bedside to sustain them while they experience something that may be very difficult for them?

Nurses definitely have a professional purpose for being at the bedside. The work of nursing is knowledge work. And skilled nurses bring their knowledge and empathy together with boundaries. The people who provide nursing services are there because of their ability to make important decisions and judgments about people’s health, as opposed to simply being there to support other health professionals.

Throughout my career, I have changed the form of my instruction, but have essentially remained a teacher. And it’s a role I enjoy immensely. At the end of my deanship, I can foresee returning to the classroom to continue working with students and continue the research we’ve done. Grooming people is at the core of everything I do.

We are entering an era in which nurse practitioners will most likely be providing much of the primary-level care in the country, particularly in underserved areas. Our health care system can’t be sustained with the scarce numbers of professionals currently available, and who are anticipated to be available in the future. So we’re moving into an era of unbounded opportunity, and that’s a great period in history for us. I don’t think there’s any more question about whether or not nurses are necessary. Our contributions to healthcare are extremely well recognized. To imagine a world without nurses is very frightening indeed.

Power Strategies: Influence, Power, Teach
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