“I hope that someday you will be as great a nurse as Barb”

Posted May 28th, 2019

I’m sure that many nurses have those experiences they never forget – I do too. But for me, one of the most memorable events wasn’t really an event but the words of a patient early on in my career. Her words have stuck with me for 25+ years, long after I have forgotten her name […]

Karen Arnold-Korzeniowski, BSN, RN

Lessons Learned from the Bedside

Posted May 23rd, 2019

When I was getting ready to graduate from nursing school I had applied for a few different positions, all on medical/surgical floors. A professor I admired told me if you start your career working on this type of unit, you are setting yourself up to go anywhere in nursing. I got a call to interview […]

Answering the Call of Oncology Nursing

Posted May 21st, 2019

It rained that day and snowed that day, and then the sun shone through the window of my parents’ family room, warming my dad’s lifeless face as he lay in a hospital bed finally succumbing to lung cancer. On hospice for less than a week, he had no choice but to face his mortality. During […]

My Journey Through Oncology Nursing

Posted May 16th, 2019

When I told people that I was studying nursing, the response that I received made me hold my head up higher. When I was applying to hospitals, I met a nurse manager who “sold” me on oncology. She described a world that was sad, but happy, that will make you cry tears of sorrow and […]

Beyond the Checklist

Posted May 14th, 2019

I am standing and waiting for the elevator back up to the third floor, where I work as a medical oncology nurse. I am holding my recently purchased lunch in hand, eagerly awaiting a short break where I can recharge before going back to caring for my patients. As I watch the numbers above the elevator door light up, a toddler in […]

Karen Arnold-Korzeniowski, BSN, RN

Some Experiences You Will Never Forget

Posted May 10th, 2019

One of my last days working on the floor, about 5 minutes before change of shift, an emergency bell sounded. Staff moved quickly towards the room knowing that the staff was respectful of what the bell was signaling: someone really needed help. Upon entering the room and quickly assessing what was going on, everyone went […]

A Silver Lining in a Cancer Diagnosis

Posted May 8th, 2019

During my first year as oncology nurse in the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine, I can recall an experience that has stuck with me over the years. One day, I was triaging patients that had arrived for their scheduled chemotherapy treatments. Despite the distractions and interruptions that the triage nursing role notoriously entails, my […]

Nursing’s Strong Suit

Posted May 6th, 2019

I’m sure by now many of you have heard the clip or read about the Washington senator who, speaking about a proposed new law requiring uninterrupted lunch breaks for nurses, mentioned that nurses, “probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day.” As a nurse, obviously I was baffled by this statement…if not a little amused. […]

Karen Arnold-Korzeniowski, BSN, RN

It Was An Honor and a Privilege

Posted October 3rd, 2018

During my years as a nurse working on the floor I took care of countless patients. I saw patients when they were first diagnosed and unsure of what was going to happen, patients who knew the end of their lives was approaching, and those in between. I was part of some life changing moments for […]

Lasting Connections

Posted September 4th, 2018

Over the course of my nursing career, I’ve met some truly incredible human beings. Like, people with whom you’d love to sit down and have a cold beer, or sit at their kitchen table over a meal. Those kinds of people—the ones who make your soul smile and warmth spring out of even the worst […]