Theresa Brown: Healing

In her new book Healing Brown vividly chronicles her journey, from the mammogram appointment that would change her life to her diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Despite years working as an oncology and hospice nurse, Brown is constantly surprised by the lack of compassion she experiences during her treatment. And she can’t help reflecting on her time caring for patients. Did she treat them with the dignity and respect that she now craves? What could she have done to make other people’s suffering even a little bit easier?

Answering these questions and more, Brown does something few practitioners ever do in print: she reevaluates her own role in this problematic system.

This program is presented in partnership with the Center for Bioethics and Health Law at the University of Pittsburgh.

Theresa Brown wrote about her nursing experiences in The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients’ Lives, which became a New York Times bestseller. Theresa is a frequent New York Times contributor, writing on subjects such as nurse to patient ratios, healthcare reform, bullying by physicians, and the importance of end-of-life care. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications and she’s been a guest on MSNBC Live and NPR’s Fresh Air. She is a frequent speaker at hospitals, nursing conferences, and universities where she lectures on issues related to nursing, health care, and end of life.