Nursing is a blend of art and science, it is caring and compassion embodied. Learn more about the fast-paced world of our nurses at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Transcript
Nursing at CHOP: A day in the life
Nursing is caring. Nursing is challenging. Nursing is challenging the status quo.
Nursing is being everything to the patient.
Nursing is creative, innovative.
--bending down at the level of a child.
Nursing is holding a hand.
--helping a family who's lost.
Nursing is joy. Nursing is sorrow. Nursing is love.
Nursing, as a discipline, is a blend of art and science.
The expert is the nurse that sees it over and over and over again.
The most effective educator is the bedside nurse. And the most effective researcher can be the bedside nurse.
That's the science which is often hidden under the caring.
While they're being kind and gentle at the bedside, there's an intellect that is going full speed saying, "I can be kind, and I can do this even better."
Our hope for nursing research at CHOP is that we can really be the key that unlocks nursing research across the country.
To begin to really explain and take more of what's now viewed as art to the level of science.
In our world we can't function if you can't function as a team.
It is critical that the nurse has excellent communication skills because often they pick up subtleties that no one else would see.
When something's not right, you know it, and you can put that together and convey that in a way to the rest of the team that creates action.
Patients do better if there's a collaborative relationship between nursing and physicians.
With our attending physicians, they come to find that bedside nurse and say, "How did he do overnight? Tell me everything about it." And you see them making judgments in their care just by feedback from the nurse.
The family becomes a partner with the nursing team.
They're the center of that team and we're working to try and accomplish goals and get their child better.
Kids come here from all over the world because we are willing to try something different.
This is where things are happening and advances are being made.
We are continuously learning.
You will never stop learning because science is always changing.
We clearly have to look at more efficient and effective ways to educate new nurses coming into the system.
You have a professional responsibility to the children that we take care of to share your work so that others might benefit from it.
When you go out to a national conference, people listen to us. They want to hear what it is that we have to say.
I truly believe that there's nothing at CHOP we're not willing to share with anyone else because we want everyone else, to have the same opportunity to give great care to children.
When I look back on a career at CHOP, I would like to be able to say, "We as a nursing department made a difference." Not only for nursing at CHOP, but for children and families throughout the country and throughout the world, that we changed things for the better, and we left the world a better place as a result of what we did.