Newswise — We live most of our life with a body that functions completely normally, but it’s in those few moments when it doesn’t, that a nurse can have the influence of a lifetime.
“You have to be that patient advocate, that guiding force to help the patient navigate through this tragedy,” said Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) nurse Hershaw Davis, Jr. in a recent interview for The American Nurse Project. Davis was among the seventeen Hopkins nurses that shared their stories as part of this venture.
Celebrating the roles of nurses in United States healthcare, The American Nurse Project is a photojournalistic essay of stories from 105 nurses across the United States. With Hopkins as a stop along the journey, faculty Patricia Abbott, Bryan Hansen, and Sharon Kozachik were interviewed from the School of Nursing, and JHH nurses Amy Brown, Naomi Cross, Hershaw Davis Jr., Pam Dodge, Karen Frank, Melissa Mason, Amanda Owen, Michelle Patch, Allisyn Pletch, Travis Simonetti, Ranimaria Toledo, Carly Turner, Germaine Williams, and Rhonda Wyskiel were interviewed from the Hospital.
By videotaping and interviewing nurses who worked at hospitals, universities, hospice care centers, and other medical facilities, filmmaker Carolyn Jones documented the accomplishments, daily trials, and thoughts of each nurse. “When I’m a bedside nurse, I can touch one life at a time, but if I’m a good researcher, I can impact the lives of countless thousands of people,” said JHUSON faculty Sharon Kozachik.
Each nurse had a different story to tell, but a common theme of caring and compassion for the patient was present throughout each interview. “I think there is something very special about a nurse who will hold that patient’s hand and say I am going to take care of you today,” said JHH nurse Amy Brown.
Video clips of all the interviews and a link to the accompanying book The American Nurse are available on the project website (www.americannurseproject.com). The book contains black-and-white photos of 75 of the selected nurses and excerpts from each interview. Patricia Abbott and Sharon Kozachik were chosen from the JHUSON to be featured in the book, and Amy Brown, Naomi Cross, Hershaw Davis, Jr., Pam Dodge, Karen Frank, Amanda Owen, Allisyn Pletch, Ranimaria Toledo, Carly Turner, Germaine Williams, and Rhonda Wyskiel were chosen from the Hospital.
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