OVERVIEW: ON THE IMPORTANCE OF STORYTELLING IN NURSING

The purpose of this symposium is to provide an overview of the importance of story (sharing and telling) in the nursing profession. There was a time when nurses gathered in the break room to share stories. Stories would be told time and again, and renewed with the telling. As health care systems have become more complex the importance of the ritual of storytelling and providing time for this activity is not always supported and in many cases may be completely overlooked. Storytelling is foundational to the community of nurses to form meaningful relationships with peers and to provide opportunities to engage mentors. It is essential that nurses tell their stories: it is through the sharing of their stories about their professional lives that builds nursing community.

The importance of storytelling in nursing is supported in the literature. Nurses in all practice sites and from all levels of education engage in and benefit from sharing the stories of their caregiving experiences. Encouraging nurses to take time to tell their stories has far reaching possibility for nurse retention, for nursing job satisfaction, and for nurses pursuing further education.

The first presentation in this symposium describes a best practice model for nurses experiencing work related bereavement with storytelling as the cornerstone of the model. The second presentation describes research with nurses experiencing compassion fatigue and how understanding of the process is supported through storytelling. The final presentation describes qualitative research conducted on the use of story and story sharing/telling in nursing practice and its’ contribution to nurse wellbeing.