Top 5 blog posts about nurses with disabilities in 2021

Let's take a look back on 2021!  Here are the top 5 Exceptional Nurse blog posts about nurses with disabilities. 

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and a wheelchair didn't stop Ryann Kress, BS, RN......she got the job! 

“Two years of ‘no.’ Two years of nobody wanted to take a chance on me, being seen as a liability, or just being instantly Googled, they would find my name, see my wheelchair and say absolutely not,” said Kress.

https://exceptionalnurse.blogspot.com/2021/05/ehlers-danlos-syndrome-and-wheelchair.html

Nursing on the spectrum: What nurses with autism want you to know           "My name is Jackie Anne.  I am in my early 30s and I am a nurse.  I may have even been your nurse.  Unknown to you, and many I work side by side with daily, I also have autism."

https://exceptionalnurse.blogspot.com/2021/01/nursing-on-spectrum-what-nurses-with.html

Nurse practitioner who stutters helps others from the front lines of Covid-19

"Roisin McManus, a Nurse Practitioner (NP) who stutters, joins Chaya Goldstein to provide a first hand perspective from the front lines of COVID-19.

https://exceptionalnurse.blogspot.com/2021/01/nurse-practitioner-who-stutters-helps.html

ExceptionalNurse.com is honored to announce the winners for 2021!!!        

Abigail Buker from Ewing, New Jersey will be attending the College of New Jersey. And, Erica Flowers from Andover, Massachusetts will be attending the University of South Carolina.

https://exceptionalnurse.blogspot.com/2021/08/nursing-students-with-disabilities.html

Dr. Carolyn Burr, Nurse practitioner pioneer in stopping mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS 

"Dr. Carolyn Keith Burr, a pediatric nurse practitioner and educator who helped save the lives of tens of thousands of people around the world through her work on the prevention of HIV/AIDS in pregnant women and children, died on Friday, October 30, 2020 at Chilton Hospital in New Jersey. She was 71."

https://exceptionalnurse.blogspot.com/2021/04/dr-carolyn-burr-nurse-practitioner.html

Cheers and Happy New Year!

Donna

In remembrance of Carolyn Berry McKinzie, LPN, a truly exceptional nurse

Carolyn was one of the Exceptional Nurse pioneer supporters. An avid writer, she loved her patients, family and friends. She served as a mentor to countless nurses and nursing student amputees.

She wrote honestly in at times bone raw accounts of her amputation and the journey back to nursing practice and a full life. The following is one example of her work.

"In 2008, I took a job as a dialysis nurse at my local hospital.  I never thought I would get more out of that job than what I put in, but we have many amputee patients and I was able to bond with them in a very special way.  I don’t hesitate to share my story with them.  It’s important for them to see that life goes on despite misfortune.  I can’t work a 10 hour shift like everybody else does, but I can keep up with them while I am there.  I have become a certified amputee peer visitor and I speak to people about my journey whenever the opportunity arises.   I know that I am a much better nurse now than I ever was.  The most valuable lesson I have learned is that tough times don’t last, but tough people do" (McKinzie, 2014, p.161).

We lost a good one. Carolyn, listen up! Your work will continue! 

Rest in peace.

With love,

Donna

To contribute to the Carolyn Berry McKinzie Scholarship to be awarded to a nursing student with an amputation, click on this link: http://www.exceptionalnurse.com/makeadonation.php

Her obituary can be read at:

 https://www.centralmaine.com/2021/12/05/obituarycarolyn-m-berry-mckinzie/

Reference

McKinzie, C. (2014). Tough times don’t last, but tough people do: Nursing after a lower limb amputation (chapter 13). In D. Maheady, The Exceptional Nurse: Tales from the trenches of truly resilient nurses working with disabilities. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 

                                                      Additional publications

UPS AND DOWNS ~ Carolyn McKinzie, LPN, RBKA (abledamputees.org)

https://exceptionalnurse.blogspot.com/2016/06/moving-forward-with-disability.html

Amputee Nurse Consultant/Carolyn McKinzie, LPN, RBKA

THE DATING GAME: She Said, He Said - Amplitude (livingwithamplitude.com)