To become a nurse, you must decide daily to put yourself aside and put another person or family first. We commit to them our all, to care for them, to keep them safe, to make them feel like their wellbeing matters. Caring for children at the end of life is an especially hard part of our jobs. It's emotional. It's scary. Nursing school does not teach us what to do, what to say, or how to act. We help each other through each one of these experiences, and we teach each other how to get through it. It requires true compassion and devotion to our role to be able to give of ourselves in this way repeatedly.

We recently had a patient in the PICU whose care shifted from resuscitation to comfort care and family support. The mother was alone at the bedside. We moved the baby to a big bed as we usually do so that mom could lay in the bed with her. Waiting for a child to pass can take different amounts of time and the toll that waiting takes on family members is unimaginable. As time went on, the mom expressed not wanting to leave her child’s side. She expressed not wanting her child to be alone if she stepped away to care for herself. An extended family member came to take mom down to the cafeteria to get some food and spend time with her. When mom refused, her bedside nurse, Madison Buddin, BSN, RN, asked what she could do to help. She offered to be that presence in the bed so that mom could take some time to be with her family and care for herself. I walked in to find Madison lying next to the baby, offering soothing and comfort through that time.

The compassion and trust she gave to that mother to not only offer but follow through brought tears to my eyes. Sometimes the smallest decision that you make can resound the most to others.