Hui-wen Sato currently practices as a pediatric ICU nurse in Los Angeles. She blogs regularly for the American Journal of Nursing (AJN) in their blog, Off the Charts. Her writing has been published in the Oxford Handbook of Meaningful Work as well as the Reflections column for AJN. Her essay “Best Brother” appears in the Spring 2020 issue of the Intima.
I’ve often joked that as an introvert, I am in the wrong profession as a nurse. While I am deeply curious about people and their stories, my basic personality makeup and life stage with two garrulous young daughters at home dictate that I am also drained by extensive interactions with people. The implication for me at work is an acute awareness of the extra intention and energy it takes for me to engage my patients and their families in conversation.
I resonated with Susan Hannah’s essay Voices (Fall 2011 Intima) and her description of all the voices coming at her throughout the course of a day. I too am constantly processing the noise of voices from both outside and in. If I am distracted, dismissive or lacking intention when I enter my patient’s room as an ICU nurse, I could easily miss my patients expressing, as Hannah puts it, “the hope they have for us to help them.”
In my essay Best Brother (Spring 2020 Intima), I share the story of how my family friend finds himself in the ICU due to a severe spinal cord injury and realizes he is able to express his needs and wants in a most unexpected way despite being paralyzed and intubated. I marvel that someone, perhaps an introverted nurse like myself, was attentive enough in the most crucial moments to realize he not only had something to say but also a non-conventional way to say it. This open door to communication provided the hope he had for his medical team to help him.
We live in a world and line of work where so many voices compete for our attention. But as we consider the potential for hope and help that exists within our efforts to connect meaningfully with our patients, we are fueled with greater generosity of spirit even as we acknowledge our own limitations as healthcare providers, as humans.
Hui-wen Sato currently practices as a pediatric ICU nurse in Los Angeles. She blogs regularly for the American Journal of Nursing (AJN) in their blog, Off the Charts. Her writing has been published in the Oxford Handbook of Meaningful Work as well as the Reflections column for AJN. In September 2017, she delivered a TEDxTalk titled "How Grief Can Enable Nurses to Endure," and she has been featured as a keynote speaker at numerous national nursing conferences. She is currently pursuing her Certification in Narrative Medicine through Columbia University. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two children and two ornery tortoises. Learn more about her work at http://heartofnursing.blog.