Hi, my name is JoAnne, but you can call me Jo, or as my little friends say, JoJo. I am a registered nurse (for over 40 years), certified in hospice/palliative pediatric nursing, and a Caritas Nurse Coach. I have dedicated the heart of my nursing career to gentling the journey for children living in the shadows of serious illness. I serve the patients and families at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego as the Supportive Care RN Coordinator. As the mother of a childhood cancer survivor, I have rare insight into the burdens shouldered by families when a child is very sick. I have companioned many brave, beautiful families on the journey through serious illness, on the paths to both survivorship and bereavement.
Writing… I have authored a handbook for parents facing end-of-life decisions titled, When Every Moment Counts, as well as a chapter in the HPNA publication, Conversations in Neonatal and Pediatric Palliative Care. I have also written a chapter in the book, Miracles and Mysteries, edited by Dr. Jean Watson. And my latest endeavor is my new book, A Nightingale’s Song… Nursing Notes to Gentle the Journey Through Serious Illness, a bittersweet harvest of lessons in love and loss from my lived/worked experience caring at the edges of lifetimes. It is available now at Amazon.com. I hope it helps gentle many journeys.
Recognition… Awards are both validating and humbling. I feel so honored to be acknowledged by my colleagues, so I say thank you here. I have been recognized both individually and as part of a team with the Daisy Award which celebrates kindness and compassion in nursing care. I have been honored by the Project on Death in America and the HPNA with their National Nursing Leadership Award. I have received the Nurse of Excellence Award from both Rady Children’s Hospital and the Southern California Association of Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurses.
My professional memberships include the Hospice and Palliative Nurse Association (HPNA), the American Association for Critical Care Nurses (AACN), and the Association for Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses (APHON). I am deeply interested in ethics and all that is involved in creating moral spaces in the complicated milieu that is health care today. I am committed to work toward nurturing professional resilience and caregiver well-being. I believe healing occurs on many levels and that care is always possible, even when cure is not.
Personal… People ask all the time, “how do you do this work?” It’s true that a good part of my work centers around what may seem hopeless to many. This has led me to ponder what it means to have hope in a fragile, bewildering world, and even more deeply, where to find hope when surrounded by sadness and sorrow. And if I go to the tenderest places in my heart, I find my hope in these life truths: each lifetime is precious; there is much we can do to ease suffering; we are called upon to make the best of each day; and that ultimately, love prevails. I trust in the soft power of hope to sustain and anchor our humanity.
I am also mom to two extraordinary women, and Nana to two enchanting grandchildren who fill my days with laughter, light, and so much love. I am grateful for your presence in this space. The world needs more caregivers… the world needs you!
Nightingale Notes 