Introduction
February 6, 2011
CJCCN Editorial Team
This spring I will be 31 years as a nurse. A pediatric nurse, in fact. And for 29 of those years it has been
my privilege both as a bedside nurse and as an administrator, to serve children and families who face life-threatening illnesses or injuries. In life we wear many hats, but pediatric critical care nurse has been an identity that I have proudly held over these many years. All of us in CACCN share that identity with
the same pride. You know what I mean… someone finds out you work in critical care and he/she says “Wow… that must be so hard!” Or makes the comment “It takes a special person to do that.” We often don’t know how to respond to this and, so, to reply to the first question we might say, “Yes it is hard.” Or “Yes it is challenging, but I enjoy the work.” To the second comment we may shyly shrug off the remark, almost embarrassed to say anything for fear of looking self-serving. That is normal. But I want to say now that it is time to begin to answer those questions differently. It is time that critical care nurses begin to provide the real insight on what we do “inside” the critical care units across Canada where our members work. It is time to find our voice!
