Paula Campbell, Part 2

2 days ago

2 min read

Updated: 16 hours ago

Episode 352

Intuition plays a huge role in being a great nurse. There is a divide between nursing and medicine and I think that physicians rely on nurses for our intuition. We can look at a patient and know: something is not right. It’s a calling. - Paula Campbell

Welcome to part two of the story of wife, mother, nurse, and breast cancer survivor, Paula Campbell. Diagnosed in 2022 with stage 2/3 breast cancer, she see slipped through the looking glass and now sees her experience with the disease as a way to help others navigate a complicated healthcare system. As a GI oncology nurse, I started out this interview by asking Paula if she is a better nurse now that she has gone through her own cancer journey. Her answer? A resounding YES: “Nursing is the profession of caring, and I now know what my patients are going through. I can give better care, knowing how it feels when your pain is not controlled. My assessments are better, my timing, and my interventions are all better." Born in Boston to Jamaican parents who came to the United States via England as part of the “wind rush generation”, Paula’s mother trained as a nurse in the UK and was recruited to come here in the 1970’s during a nursing shortage, only to experience the horror of the historic Boston bussing crisis. The family moved from Jamaica Plain to the suburban town of Sharon where they settled into a community of caring. A graduate of Boston College, Paula says that she knew she wanted her life to be about empowerment, and got her start in real estate development before going back to school to become a nurse. What are the key attributes to a great nurse? Says Paula: “empathy, intuition, honesty, respect for science, and practical thinking.” When asked about success, she says: “I’m all about legacy. My people did not come here for me to fail. They sold many a goat, many a chicken, to make sure I make good choices. If that means I had to work through a tough diagnosis in order to set an example for those who will come after me, so be it. Dare to be true. Live your truth. “ Inspiring? You betcha. #breastcancer #legacy #jamaica #bostoncollege #nursing

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