My Own Bigger Picture

If you have a chance, please read today's post of the AJN "Off the Charts" blog, No Explanation Required: A Preceptor's Tale .  It's about a preceptor and an intern in a critical care unit when they have to continue care for a patient who has died because the patient is an organ donor.  The post describes the difference in perspective between the preceptor, who enjoys the science of nursing in the process of organ harvesting and donation, and the intern, who prefers the art of nursing in caring for living patients with health problems.


"I prefer science; my intern does not. Or rather, she prefers more than science. She tells me she far prefers taking care of living patients and that, although she knows there’s a bigger picture out there, she’s just not feeling it and can’t explain why.
I think she’s finding her own bigger picture. No explanation required."

-Marcy Phipps, RN

But isn't that what we are all doing?  In our quest to prove that this life bears meaning and our existence affects the lives of others, aren't we all finding our own bigger pictures?  I think that is our charge.

On Monday, we start the second block of the semester - Med/Surg I for myself and half of my classmates.  Our very first assignment (as it has been for almost every class so far) is to complete a simple biosketch of ourselves and share it on an online discussion board.  The instructor asked us to respond to three prompts, one of which was to choose a song to represent us.  What a challenge!!!  The song I finally settled on is by John Mayer, called "The Heart of Life".  I believe that we will all face challenges and hard times, but the love of God, family and friends will see us through.  That is the heart of life, and it is good and deserves to be celebrated.  This is part of my bigger picture, and also part of why I chose nursing as a career.  Enjoy the song if you have time.