The Power Of Presence
ServiceSpace
--Roshni Shah
3 minute read
Feb 11, 2016

 

As a student nurse, it can feel frustrating on the floor. With limitations in how much we know and how much we are legally allowed to do, there are moments when the eagerness to "do" far outweighs the demand to just "be". I consider this to be an opportunity to practice presence whole-heartedly. After all, if we can't practice meditation and mindfulness in real life, then why bother with it at all? I have found, time and time again, that there is beauty in limitation (even if it takes me a while to see it) because in my lack of doing, I am able to pick up things others miss. Without the stress of juggling multiple patients, charting, or the weight of legal obligations over my head I am allowed to spend my day focusing on the 1-2 patients under my "charge". I am able (and often will) sit with these people and learn the story of who they are outside of these four walls. 

This quarter my rotations are in a pediatric oncology unit and obstetrics/labor. Very different specialties with very unique experiences. There is not much that motivates me to wake up at 4 am, but the patients on these floors have me jumping out of bed and dredging through snow with excitement. The days aren't "busy" as I like it, cancer and labor are looooooooong, arduous processes steeped in patience and waiting, but they are fulfilling. The stories can be heartbreaking, but the resilience of these people reinvigorates my faith in humanity time and time again. 

I wanted to share a bit about my patients this week. One, a teenager with a bulging tumor on his hand (who may need an amputation) who humored my student status and allowed me to practice on him a few times (bless him) shared with me his desire to learn to use his other, less dominant hand and had a desire to learn to play the piano. Playing the piano is also on my bucket list, so what better time then to start learning something new together? I didn't have much else to do (ahh student life can be great sometimes) so I set out to find this kid a keyboard. And I did (I may have broken some rules to do so, but rules aren't meant to be followed) and with the help from a fellow student nurse/friend, we spent the rest of the time labeling the piano and learning to play some basic songs. It wasn't a big life saving thing that happened, but for someone stuck in a bed for 5-6 days without any friends and dealing with the nauseating affects of chemo, it was pretty incredible that for a few moments, he was able to just be again. Another patient, a young infant only 28 days old, had spent most of his life in the hospital after he suffered from cardiac arrest at just 4 days old. With serious neurological loss, his parents had not even heard him cry yet. Despite the traumatic start to this baby's life, the parents remained hopeful that the worst was over. I didn't do much, I sat with the family, held the baby when I could, provided the parents with mini breaks--nothing that requires any license, just presence. Not every story is a miracle or has a breakthrough, but the lessons in acceptance and presence are a daily occurrence.
 

 

Posted by Roshni Shah on Feb 11, 2016


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