During the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 celebration of the Year of the Nurse, Janine Galeski shared her story as part of the 366 nursing stories collected by the Northeast Ohio Year of the Nurse.
Her reflections on the experience of a family nurse practitioner (FNP) with a focus on inpatient palliative care delivery during COVID-19 paint a moving portrait of nurses working through a historic event.
Galeski is a faculty member and Doctor of Nursing Practice student at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University.
In celebration of National Nurse Practitioner Week 2021, she shared her thoughts on what being a nurse practitioner means to her and how the role influences the nursing profession and care delivery.
What inspired you to become a nurse practitioner?
Of all the providers I worked with in the hospitals, the Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) and Nurse Practitioners (NPs) were the most caring and approachable of all, bridging the gap between healing a person and treating a disease. My colleague faculty members at Case Western Reserve University were always willing to reach out and help the next in line, lifting up the profession one individual at a time.
Where is the best place to spend a day in Cleveland?
Visiting the beautiful museums and parks at University Circle.
What does being a nurse practitioner mean to you?
As a Certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP), I can utilize my nursing and medical knowledge with compassion and autonomy to identify mutual goals of care with my patients. Together, we can find a path to their best state of health. In my current work as palliative NP, this might mean to find ways to reduce suffering, but often it also means to enable/coach my patients to navigate medical, ethical and legal options in order to live life to the fullest.
What is the best advice you ever received?
Don't apply to a job you don't want. No benefits are worth it if your heart is not in it.
What is your favorite thing about Case Western Reserve University?
I love being at FPB because all fields of nursing are appreciated, celebrated and promoted. Beyond FPB, the CWRU faculty community has been welcoming, engaged and dedicated- anyone interested in making a difference can truly do so!