Barb’s Holiday Story

Image via Travel Alberta

One of my Christmas memories working in a rural hospital includes a night of hectic activity injected with a moment of quiet solitude…

In the rural setting, a nurse is required to care for patients across the continuum of age, clinical area and health condition. In many settings you may be the only nurse or part of a very small team.

My premise about rural nursing has always been “ready for anything, prepared for everything and surprised by nothing”!

One Christmas Eve, I was working with two other nurses, the unit was at full capacity, we were covering ER as well and there were three patients in labour – we hunkered down for a busy night.

One of our patients on the unit was a palliative young woman who was very close to transitioning and she mentioned that she really wanted to see the Three Sisters Mountains (outside not through a window) on Christmas Eve.

We went into planning mode to make sure our patients would be looked after, ER would be covered and no one would push out a baby in the next couple of hours to interrupt our timeline! We carefully bundled up our palliative patient in a recliner on wheels and I was nominated to take her outside while my colleagues watched the unit and they would alert me if I needed to return quickly.

I wheeled my patient outside, she was wrapped in many warm blankets and a warm woolen hat. I took her to a location where I could sit on a bench beside her and she was able to see the mountains in the moonlight. We sat there in silence – no words were necessary as both her and I knew that this was likely the last time she would see the mountains of her home and breathe the crisp air of Christmas Eve.

This is the art of nursing – knowing when to be silent, doing everything possible to support a peaceful transition and making sure there is time to do this on a hectic evening. The smile on my patient’s face that night is etched in my mind after many years and the moments with her on that bench are there to remind me of what nursing is and what nursing can be.

When she was ready to return, I took her back to the unit and my treasured colleagues had kept their heads above water while I took the time to give my patient the outside moment. We got her back to bed and a tear was shed by all of us.

But we had to cut the moment short as the babies decided that it would be fun to all come at once. We needed to plan once more as to who was doing what and we had three babies delivered in ninety minutes! All lovely little girls destined to be connected in life experiences as they travelled through life.

This is the science of nursing – having the knowledge and skills (and organization) to support a woman in labour, encourage the coach and safely care for the baby in the first few minutes of life.

Before we knew it – it was Christmas morning. As I went home after my shift to join my family, I looked up at the mountains covered in fresh snow and said a silent prayer of gratitude for the art and science of nursing and the privileged place I have as a nurse.

I am a longtime supporter of ARNET and I believe their work to support nurses in education is essential. Nurses are lifelong learners and the support that is provided by ARNET contributes to safe, quality care for our patients and families.

I have received funding from ARNET and I believe that I also have a responsibility to pay it forward for those who come behind, and I hope you will too.

If you donate today through ATB Cares your donation is matched 20%. A donation of $100 is now $120. You can make an even bigger impact to health care in Alberta by donating through this link.

Warmest regards,

Barb Shellian, RN