Reflections
As some of you know, when I chose the sacred and glorious profession of nursing I was clueless about how deeply it would grow me as I showed up being a nurse in various settings. Since graduating UNC Chapel Hill in 1974, with a Bachelors in Nursing the nursing process: assessment, diagnosis, plan of care, interventions, and evaluation are in the marrow of my bones. It colors the way I experience and operate in the world as parent, daughter, friend, colleague, teacher, caregiver and fellow on the spiritual path of love. Nursing has touched every aspect of my life. Being a nurse reminds me “that we are all in this together.”
If one person is suffering, we all are. And, that deeper than interdependent, we inter-are. understanding Inter-being
Wow have there been changes in nursing, health care and in me in the last 42 years.
Being a nurse gave me the opportunity to work with my colleagues at Lenox Hill in order to unionize in the 1980’s.
Nursing has given me the research to back up my experience of distance healing.
Martha Rogers was my professor at NYU on the Science of Unitary Human Beings in 1976 Nursing Theory – Unitary Human Beings . Her grand theory and the training in Therapeutic Touch that I received at Pumpkin Hollow Farm with Delores Krieger and Dora Kunz began the expansion of my understanding with regard to human health and the interplay of fields and systems; the complementary approaches in health care. Research now shows that what was once labeled “alternative” is now one of many models, in addition to the medical models used in addressing health care issues.
Nursing has offered me many ways of supporting my family
Doing my best to balance family and work life, I healed from burnout several times and stayed in the profession. This profession has always been here for me as a source of income and just as importantly a deepening of my spiritual and emotional intelligence. For example, after working med/surg at NY Hospital and Lenox Hill, I realized that developing a private psychotherapy practice in Manhattan gave me the opportunity to help people experience and heal on emotional, mental and physical levels that we could not address in the hospital. Knowing that birth is a natural event, finding out what is important to parents and helping them to achieve it was another way of being a nurse. While home educating my 2 daughters, I happily became a certified Bradley childbirth educator in my area. bradleybirth.com
At the other end of the life spectrum, dying is again a natural event and working as a hospice case manager for 14+ years, my work reflected “the science of caring is the art of nursing.” Current Nursing Theory
Assisting dying people, caregivers and colleagues in approaching the process from an integral perspective, I recognized that the transformation of one impacts everyone, including the nurse. I also co-created with the Director of Volunteers, an 11th hour certificate training program for the volunteers based on my training at the Metta Institute. Metta Institute
Nursing is now giving me the opportunity to continue to serve in a new way.
(This picture is one I took- the idea of sharing what I have to offer, and of sowing seeds…)I have learned so much from patients, colleagues, friends and family going through the ups and downs of being human on this planet. I also continue to learn from you as I navigate the unfamiliar territory of social media and entrepreneurship. I’ve continued to work with nurses, patients and organizations and or the last 2 years I have been creating a business,
Integral Nursing Solutions, PLLC-
As health care continues to evolve, so have nursing roles. Self-care and resilience are buzz words in the lexicon of nursing programs, departments, research and education. A lot is being said about self-care and INS is designed to support the implementation of self-care practices by providing both in person and online programs and workshops with CNE credits to nurses and the organizations that employ nurses. Humans grow and heal in the loving, supportive company of others. Integral Nursing Solutions provides the personal and loving support that is needed to develop internal strengths to manifest the courage to be vulnerable enough to grow in new ways that heal us. Helping nurses to develop personal keystone habits that support them as they provide the dedicated and beautiful service they offer in the world of nursing, healthcare and beyond.
This newsletter will be posted periodically with articles that I write and that you or others write. So, if you are a nurse and/or a writer, and would like to post here, please feel free to send me your posts. The world is busy and if you get to a point where receiving the email no longer meets your needs, you can always unsubscribe.
In the meantime… Welcome and I look forward to our conversations and collaborations.
The next newsletter will include: Why the name Integral Nursing Solutions and the logo of a honeycomb?
Sending you blessings for clarity, joy and delight till we visit again.
With love, Padma
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