Bonnie
Urquhart
Gruenberg, CNM, MSN
Artist, Writer
Photographer
Web Design
Certified Nurse Midwife
Bonnie |
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Valedictory speech During the years I worked as a paramedic, I chafed under a health-care system that sees patients as collections of symptoms and illnesses rather than as complex, multidimensional individuals. Urban medics move so fast from crisis to crisis, they by necessity prune health care to its basics-rapid assessment, treatment, and transport.
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I attended SVC's nursing program largely because its philosophy of holism resonated with my own philosophies of health and wellness, and because nursing would give me the opportunity to honor each patient with individualized, compassionate care. Holistic nursing recognizes each person as a multidimensional whole, a whole much greater than the sum of its parts. A person can no more beneficially be separated into symptoms, organs, and characteristics than a painting can be separated into brush strokes. Viewed at close range, every stroke seems meaningless, unrelated to those around it. But if one steps back and beholds the entire complex work of art, it becomes meaningful, infused with inspiration and passion, capturing not only a scene, but also idea, emotion, time, and mood.
We cannot achieve optimal outcomes when we separate an integrated body, mind, and soul into components. The patient with chest pain needs someone to read his eyes as well as his cardiac monitor. When we take an opportunity to connect with others at a deep and meaningful level, not only do we enhance health and wellbeing; we also tap a wellspring of healing energy that is the very essence of nursing. Often this interaction cultivates healing, growth, and transcendence in the nurse as well.
I attended this college to learn holistic nursing. I expected to gain skills and master information that would allow me to improve the lives of my patients. To my pleasant surprise, I discovered that education itself is holistic, stimulating my growth in every dimension and pointing me towards self-actualization.
Students are not academic machines, but individuals with unique circumstances. Academic stress can wreak havoc with a student's equilibrium, causing illness, anxiety, fatigue, and despair, which can reciprocally impede academic progress. Extracurricular stress can drain a student of the creativity and energy necessary to execute a class project. Sleep, exercise, and nutrition can make most stressors more bearable. A good educational system holistically nourishes all dimensions of the individual: body, mind, emotion, and spirit, and seeks to maintain that healthful balance.
SVC understands that each individual is unique and that learning styles vary markedly. I found that I retain more from lectures when my hands are busy drawing. During the rigorous first two years of my training, my notebook became choked with artwork. Eventually, I was sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Everett room with a sketchpad in my lap, drawing horses while listening to discussions of cardiology and cancer. Very few teachers would be comfortable with this behavior, but mine were willing to let me pursue the learning strategy that worked best for me. That's holistic thinking.
The BSN program is made up largely of non-traditional students who are working, parenting, and juggling many other responsibilities. Each nursing course demands between 60 and 120 hours of clinical work in addition to classroom hours, term papers, and exams. Our program accommodates our hectic lifestyles by allowing us to arrange clinical placement in the settings that we find most meaningful, within a time frame that fits our schedules. For example, I put my academic gleanings to practical use with rural nurse midwives in Arizona, New Mexico, and Kentucky.
Our professors developed our critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, often nudging us outside our comfort zones to encourage growth and expansion. For me, one such stretch was learning how to work with groups. Nursing Professor Barbara Waite is especially fond of assigning group projects, and I was very uncomfortable with them until the intended realization dawned: Many minds really can solve problems more effectively than one. I also learned that like me, every student here is a collection of strengths and weaknesses, hopes and fears, vices and virtues.
This was a tough program, but we benefited unknowably much from being held to such exacting standards. SVC redefined our possibilities and gave us confidence in our ability to achieve almost anything if we are willing to work hard enough. Here we learned to choose our goals carefully, then commit ourselves to excellence in achieving them. Here we learned to accept one another as whole people, and so became more fully integrated ourselves. In the tradition of our mentors, we go forth to serve humanity in its wholeness; to care, to heal, to teach, and perhaps even make systemic improvements that will better the lives of others for generations to come.
As a paramedic and as a nurse, I have continually encountered sudden and untimely death. Nobody is promised a tomorrow, and so it becomes essential to fill our lives today with the things that really matter. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross wrote: "It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth, and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up, that we will begin to live each day to the fullest; as if it were the only one we had." Seeking to make a positive contribution not only improves the wellbeing of others, but also increases the meaning and satisfaction in our own lives.
In closing, I would like to thank my friends and family for their unflagging support, encouragement, and love through every step of my academic adventure. I give special thanks to Laurie Forfa, Barbara Waite, and Holly Madison, the instructors who form the backbone of our nursing program. Without their knowledge, confidence, patience, encouragement, and expertise, my degree would be little more than a piece of paper. Treating me as a unique individual, they guided my hands and taught them to heal the whole person. Every patient I touch will benefit from their influence and wisdom. And so will I. That's holism.
