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Crit Care Nurse 2002 Aug; 22(4): 10-12
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Editorial

Capturing the Wisdom of the Ages:"... I’ve Been a Critical Care Nurse for More Than 20 Years ..."

I don’t want to hear any more choruses of the "nurses are getting older" refrain for at least the next 6 months. It’s become quite wearing to listen to that dirge played endlessly—courtesy of anyone with a healthcare degree, myself included. Ditto for "the graying of America" and every other developed nation around the globe. The last time I checked, all of us—including the youngest among us—were getting older. Granted, receiving your first invitation for membership in the American Association of Retired Persons within days of turning that dreaded eligibility age is one milestone in life you could very well have lived without, but joining the ranks of those who have been around the block isn’t always as unappealing as it is often portrayed. And it’s far preferable to the alternative ...

So what’s the silver lining for so many of us who have worked as critical care nurses for 2 or 3 decades? For many, that lining consists of the multitude of personal and professional satisfactions we have experienced over the course of our careers: the first time we alone recognized that a patient had muffled heart sounds, found the right words to comfort a grieving family, recognized a transfusion reaction, helped prepare a patient for life with a pacemaker, passed the CCRN examination, defibrillated a lethal dys-rhythmia, survived another visit from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, got certified as an instructor-trainer in advanced life support, successfully advocated for a patient within his or her family, or arranged coverage so that the entire staff could go to lunch. In addition to these milestone accomplishments, we have also been generating an individual cache of what Benner’s1 Novice-to-Expert Model characterizes as clinical or practical knowledge—that is, a knowledge of things that cannot be learned from any book, lecture, or formal education but can be derived only from one’s reflections on experiences in practice over a long period. Whenever seasoned critical care nurses gather, tidbits of this knowledge are freely shared, respected, and enjoyed.

LASTING LEGACIES

But what happens to the considerable volume of clinical knowledge that never gets passed on? Is it destined to evaporate when we reach our golden years? Does every nurse yet to come need to learn all of these things from scratch? Or can we help create a legacy of clinical knowledge that critical care nurses pass from one generation to the next so this wisdom from decades of practice is not lost when we leave?

If you would like to contribute to this endeavor, please do each of the following:

  1. Identify 3 or 4 important lessons you have learned from clinical practice that are not found in any book.
  2. Because we would like to demonstrate our support for the precepts of evidence-based practice, briefly summarize your "evidence" of the veracity of that lesson.
  3. Record these insights on the "Lasting Legacy" form (p 12).

My plan is to collect, compile, organize, and then disseminate these evidence-based lessons so that critical care nurses around the world can benefit from your wisdom. If we baby boomers are getting old as fast as everyone says we are, we’d best not tarry in recording what we have learned. Please share your legacy as a critical care nurse with us via e-mail, online, fax, or mail before December 31, 2002.

{blacksquare} E-mail: ccn{at}aacn.org
{blacksquare} Online: www.critical-care-nurse.org
{blacksquare} Fax: (410) 573-1520 or (949) 362-2049
{blacksquare} Mail: CRITICAL CARE NURSE, P.O. Box 6680,

HOW TO SUBMIT

Your legacy to future generations of critical care nurses may include pearls salient to any aspect or role in critical care nursing. Pearls not available in any published medium are especially welcome and may be characterized in any of the following forms:

Wisdom

{blacksquare} Lessons you have learned (eg, look at all the data, but when discrepancies arise, go with your gut)
{blacksquare} Traditional words of wisdom (I don’t know that there is a precise way to describe this shiny, bluish-gray, tinged with yellow skin color, but remember it because it’s always a precursor of bad news)
{blacksquare} Truisms your mama never taught you (some folks have no support system; not all parents love their children and vice versa)
{blacksquare} Insights not visible to all (If all our patients are critically ill, how do we recognize when a "problem" exists? Isn’t being critically ill a problem?)
{blacksquare} New commandments you have discovered (eg, Thou shalt not turn a stopcock while an emotionally charged family is visiting until thou hast learned to operate it correctly)
{blacksquare} Universal laws that have been personally verified (As the weight of an object approaches my body weight, there is an inverse probability that I can relocate it from where it is presently situated)
{blacksquare} Guaranteed guidelines for getting along (Never leave for the next shift the unfinished and unpleasant residue generated during your shift)

Wit

{blacksquare} Lessons learned from a wide range of humorous or whimsical happenings (eg, the dumbest and/or funniest and/or most embarrassing thing I’ve ever said to a patient, a family, a physician, pharmacologist, chaplain, peer, supervisor, or subordinate and the dumbest thing I’ve ever done, seen, heard, or charted in response to any of the above.

Reminiscence

{blacksquare} Your finest hour or proudest moment in critical care nursing
{blacksquare} The memory you return to for confirmation or inspiration
{blacksquare} The high point of your career as a critical care nurse

Whatever
Things you’ve learned that defy classification.

Reference

  1. Benner P. From Novice to Expert. Reading, Mass: Addison Wesley; 1984.
Grif Alspach, RN, MSN, EdD
Editor





This Article
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Right arrow Articles by Alspach, G.

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