WATCH: Nurses Grieve, Too

We nurses know very well the way we are most often erroneously portrayed in the media. Part of our job that is never portrayed and hardly understood by the public is how much our jobs impact us emotionally.
No matter how professional I am at my job, I carry home the rough circumstances, such as death of a patient or their baby.  Often the tears come long after something tragic has happened in my job. It is important for nurses to understand the way that death and tragedy affects us and make sure we get the help and support we need. It is vital that lay people understand that nurses grieve–yes, differently than the patient, but it is grief none the less. Many times we rely on the people in our lives to pick up the pieces!

I found a wonderful video about the grief we OB nurses feel and how we cope with that grief. I wanted to share it in the hope it helps someone else out there:

Nurses Grieve Too: Insights into Experiences with Perinatal Loss from York University Libraries on Vimeo.