This moment touched multiple Ways of Knowing: personal (challenging my assumptions), aesthetic (creating together), and ethical (honouring her as a whole person). It also reflected relational leadership—being fully present, listening, and letting the patient take the lead. That, to me, is collaborative practice at its most meaningful.

Baek, H., Han, K., Cho, H., & Ju, J. (2023). Nursing teamwork is essential in promoting patient-centered care: a cross-sectional study. BMC Nursing, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01592-3

Thürlimann, E., Verweij, L., & Naef, R. (2022). The Implementation of Evidence-Informed Family Nursing Practices: A scoping review of strategies, contextual determinants, and outcomes. Journal of Family Nursing, 28(3), 258–276. https://doi.org/10.1177/10748407221099655

• Compassion

• Curiosity

• Commitment

• Competence

• Correspondence

• Being present

These capacities help nurses attend to the complexity of care—especially in emotionally intense environments like mental health or maternal-child care.

Rationale: This quote resonates with me because it captures the essence of ontological nursing—being present and compassionate has a lasting impact on patients, especially during vulnerable moments in maternal or mental health care.

Rationale: This experience taught me that presence and emotional attunement are just as important as clinical skill. I wasn’t doing much technically—but I was being compassionate and committed.

Younas, A. (2020). Relational inquiry approach for developing deeper awareness of patient suffering. Nursing Ethics, 27(4), 935–945. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733020912523

“Culture is not static. It is lived, dynamic, and relational.” — Doane & Varcoe

Rationale: This quote challenged my assumptions about culture being a fixed trait. It helped me understand that cultural safety requires active engagement—not just knowledge, but responsiveness.

Rationale:
When I hear this song, I think about the importance of meeting people where they are. Everyone brings something different to the table—values, traditions, fears, strengths—and it’s not always visible at first glance. As a future nurse, I want to create space for all of that to exist in the room. It’s not just about treating symptoms—it’s about honouring the person behind them.

Nuuyoma, V., Muvumwaeni, S., & Chihururu, L. (2024). Transcultural nursing: a qualitative analysis of nursing students’ experiences in a multicultural context in North-Eastern Namibia. BMC Nursing, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01773-8

“Nurses recognize and respect the intrinsic worth of each person and advocate for equitable access to care.”
— Canadian Nurses Association, 2017

Rationale:
This quote reminded me of my clinical experience when a postpartum mother seemed hesitant to take pain medication after her C-section due to past trauma. Advocating for her comfort, while respecting her history, showed me what ethical, patient-centered care really means. I learned that safety includes emotional safety, not just physical.

“Even when the dark comes crashing through / When you need a friend to carry you / And when you're broken on the ground / You will be found.”

Rationale:
This song speaks to the emotional safety nurses strive to provide—especially when patients feel overwhelmed, unseen, or vulnerable. In both maternal-child and mental health nursing, I witnessed moments where simply being present and reassuring a client that they’re not alone made all the difference. The message of this song reflects the ethical obligation nurses have to advocate, support, and protect, especially when clients can't advocate for themselves.

Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario. (2015). Person- and Family-Centred Care. Toronto, ON: Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario.