Presentation Highlights
Celebrating Nurses : A Filmmaker Witnesses Our World Carolyn Jones | President and CEO , Carolyn Jones Production
Carolyn Jones — author and filmmaker behind The American Nurse Project and Defining Hope — spent over 10 years documenting the work of nurses across the country , a journey that led her to conclude that “ without them , we don ’ t stand a chance .” That was before the global coronavirus pandemic that has thrust our nation ’ s nurses even further onto the frontlines of healthcare , addressing our physical and emotional needs before sending us back out into the world . When COVID hit , she had an opportunity to see what emergency nurses were dealing with on the front lines of the pandemic . In this session , Jones will share excerpts and stories from her book The American Nurse , and her three documentary films , including the recently released In Case of Emergency , shedding light on some of the biggest health care challenges facing Americans today — from the opioid crisis to gun violence to behavioral health and lack of insurance — and the ways in which nurses are able to tackle them head-on .
Carolyn Jones is an award-winning photographer and filmmaker who has devoted her career to celebrating invisible populations and breaking down barriers . She has published multiple books include Living Proof : Courage in the Face of AIDS and The American Nurse , and directed three feature documentaries focused on nurses : The American Nurse , Defining Hope , and most recently In Case of Emergency , which focuses on our nation ’ s biggest public health challenges — from COVID-19 to the lack of health insurance to the devastating impact of the opioid crisis .
Gloria Ferraro Donnelly , PhD , RN , FAAN , FCPP , is a longstanding proponent of self-care and resilience-building strategies , beginning with her book , Coping with Stress : RN ’ s Survival Sourcebook Medical Economics Press ( 1983 ), and , most recently , with Dr . R . Wicks , Overcoming Secondary Stress in Medical and Nursing Practice ( 2021 ). As editor in chief of the refereed journal , Holistic Nursing Practice , she encourages the practice of holistic self-care modalities to nurture mind , body , and spirit . Dr . Donnelly is also Dean Emerita and Professor Emerita with the College of Nursing and Health Professions , Drexel University , Philadelphia . True to her quest for personal resilience , Dr . Donnelly is a standup comedian , using her comedic talents to raise funds to assist nursing and health professions ’ students . She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the Philadelphia College of Physicians , the oldest medical society in the United States .
The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented strains on healthcare professionals , particularly direct care providers and the institutions in which they work . High levels of stress among direct care providers are well documented by the American Nurses Association and have been widely reported in the media and literature , including levels of depression , anxiety , and suicide . Demands on nurse educators have also increased as in-person instruction converted to other formats and clinical sites discontinued student experiences . This presentation will focus on secondary stress — that extra layer of stress that results from the demands of caring for others . Self-awareness and intentionally designed self-care strategies are key in building resilience , some of which will be described in this session .