EXCELLENCE IN NURSING AWARDS 2018
EXCELLENCE IN NURSING AWARDS
LONG-TERM CARE NURSES OF THE YEAR
Linda Peckham, BA, RN
Director of Nursing at Royal Forest Farm
I told the nurse that I did not think I
should be the one to give her care because
I was afraid that I might start to cry.
I have never forgotten her response:
‘WHEN YOU STOP CRYING,
STOP DOING THIS JOB.’
HOW DID YOU GET INTO NURSING?
In the late 1970s, I worked on a research project developing a cognitive
skills manuals for patients who had cognitive impairment following a
stroke. I found I really enjoyed working with this population. I also realized
both their professional and family caregivers had very little understanding
about cognitive loss and how it affected behavior. While working
on this project, I had the opportunity to watch rehabilitation nurses and
long-term nurses. I decided being a nurse would give me the opportunity
to work closely with people with cognitive impairment and the symptoms
of dementia, and hopefully make a difference.
WHAT DO YOU WISH MORE PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT
YOUR ROLE AS A LONG-TERM CARE NURSE?
We care for our frail, vulnerable and often medically complex elders
who deserve exceptional care. We are often expected to do this without
the respect, support, resources and education needed. I value our elders,
especially those with dementia. They have taught me what is important
in life: to live in the moment and not to waste your precious time on this
earth. To provide the care our elders deserve, our society’s values need
to change. We need to understand the importance of our elders to our
society and provide the changes needed to the systems caring for them.
WHAT QUALITIES DO YOU THINK
MAKE FOR A GOOD NURSE?
A good nurse needs to have compassion and caring for those he/she
is caring for. In long-term care, you become an important part of the
lives of your patients. In fact, for many of them, the relationship they
have with you may be the last in their lives. Many years ago, when I
was working as a CNA, a nurse asked me to give care to a woman I
had spent a lot of time with, who was dying. I told the nurse that I did
not think I should be the one to give her care because I was
afraid that I might start to cry. I have never forgotten her
response: “When you stop crying, stop doing this job.”
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO AN
ASPIRING LONG-TERM NURSE?
Follow your passion and do not give up, no matter what others
tell you. When I was in nursing school, one of my instructors
asked me what I was going to do when I graduated. I told her I
wanted to work in long-term care. Her response was, “That will
be a waste of your talent.” I did not answer her, but I remember
thinking, “Someday she may be an elder and I wonder if she
would want a ‘talented nurse’ caring for her?”
NOMINATOR
BUZZ
“Linda is incredibly compassionate and skilled in working with
residents, but what I see that is different in her is her focus. It is
not only on the individual resident, but also on the family that
loves the individual and who is also significantly affected by the
life changes.”
— Joanne Fawcett Costello, Rhode Island College School of Nursing
64 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l OCTOBER 2020