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Author: Bobbi McCarthy, RN

The Wisdom of Reflection

He sat on his mother’s lap clinging to her for dear life as he screamed in fear.  The hospital bed seemed to hug them as they sat in the center of it, leaning against the head of the bed that was at a 75 degree angle. […]

An Exercise of Compassion

The ER is in total chaos today. All 23 rooms are full, the behavioral health suite is full, the waiting room is full, and even the hallway is full. Full of sick patients. The nurses are frazzled, working as hard as they can delivering treatments, […]

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Faith and Healing

In the process of returning from taking my lunch break and walking through the front of the ER by triage, I spotted one of my daughter’s friends sitting in the waiting area with her father. I went up to them to say hello and noticed […]

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Tears and Being Present

The call came in from EMS as “72-year-old man with end stage lung cancer in respiratory distress. Vitals stable. Family requesting transport to the ER for evaluation. He is on Hospice – the nurse tells us the family is no longer able to cope with […]

Transpersonal Caring Relationships in Nursing

I walked into room 15 to introduce myself to my new migraine patient and I found her rocking back and forth on the stretcher. Both of her hands were firmly pressed into her forehead and covering her eyes. The chart says my patient is 17 […]

Experience, Knowledge and Caring: Good Nursing Requires The Whole Package

Her little blue eyes darted from her mother to me repeatedly as tears built up and dropped onto her cheeks. I smiled at her and set my equipment down on the counter. Her little chin quivered with fear as she struggled to compose herself. Her […]

The Heart of a Nurse

Something was said to me on Christmas that has left me pondering just why being a nurse is so wonderful. The comment was, “She is such a smart girl. She shouldn’t be in the nursing program. She should be a doctor.” Well…Hmmmmmmmm. I admire the […]

Holistic Nursing and the Surgical Patient

A category 2 abdominal pain patient was brought into room 5 from the waiting room of my ER. She was an early 20-something who happened to be 17 weeks pregnant. She was complaining of diffuse belly pain, fever and nausea that had escalated over 48 […]

Past and Present Reunite

I could hear her crying and screaming in pain as I entered the ER for my evening shift. The door to her room was closed but the bone-chilling cries echoed out beneath the wooden door and filled the airspace of the nursing station. I inquired […]