This will be my seventh year in practice as a nurse. I have worked in many different specialty areas (staff + contracts); Peds psych, Addiction Medicine, Aesthetics, Occupational Health, Public Health, Telehealth, Apheresis, Ambulatory Surgery.. etc. Not all who wander are lost… but at this point I might be😂

Unfortunately, I have been more of a patient than a nurse for the past year, and I’m still much more of a patient at this moment. All of these symptoms started after a cancer diagnosis in May 2022. I’m cancer free now, but recently, someone told me “the real battle begins after the cancer is gone.” I believe that can be true. Not being able to practice has left me empty, and grappling with my purpose, after fighting for a year to finally be diagnosed with a chronic illness. Test after test. So many doctors appointments. More explaining. More crying. More waiting. More confusion. More “you’re fine.” I think about the heaviness I felt during my appointments as a patient. I think back about when I was the nurse standing there working. Nurses frequently meet people on the worst days of their lives. We need to acknowledge the impact that has on them. 

More advocacy.

This is what I can do this year to help my profession, that seems like it is slipping away from me — Please help if you are able. 

Things I’ve learned this year:

Life is a series of events. A series of unforeseen circumstances. Constant change. As nurses, we take care of other humans (and the occasional stuffed animal). We are seen as the helpers. We are seen as hope. But, we are not machines. We are not indestructible. We are human first, and it is imperative that we learn to treat ourselves with kindness. To give ourselves grace, just like the grace we give to our patients. We are so used to being the helpers, that we often forget it is okay to help ourselves. To take care of ourselves, is something nurses need to exist. To have someone put a hand on our shoulder and say, “It is not weak to ask for help,” could be life changing for a nurse. In this case, that hand on the shoulder is the team and community at Debriefing the Front Lines. It takes immense COURAGE and vulnerability to ask for help. It does not make you weak - it makes you human.❤️

HUMAN | NURSE  =  HUMAN | FIRST

Always remember we are also human first. Nurses need your help, just as much as you need ours.

The team at DTFL has been able to provide these resources, and support, because of the generosity shown last year.

Each $50 donation is a scholarship - and the need for debriefing has increased over the past year from 4 sessions to 8-10. Anything you are willing to contribute will go towards covering these costs.

DTFL has NEVER had to turn down a scholarship request to help a nurse in need.. and with your help I hope they will never have to. 

With gratitude,

Kelli