Author: Marianna Crane

After a long career in nursing--I was one of the first certified gerontological nurse practitioners--I am now a writer. My writings center around patients I have had over the years that continue to haunt my memory unless I record their stories. In addition, I write about growing older, confronting ageism, creativity and food.
My memoir, "Stories from the Tenth Floor Clinic: A Nurse Practitioner Remembers" is available where ever books are sold.

Why Your Imperfections Make You Perfect

I’m now taking watercolor classes, struggling to create something that I can be proud of but mostly learning how to be humble and not compare myself with my fellow classmates. As hard as I try to enjoy the journey and not focus on the end result, I still strive to have my finished product an…… Continue reading Why Your Imperfections Make You Perfect

 I Am Grateful to the Nurses

In 2013 I toured the new intensive care units back at the hospital where I volunteer. At the time I was acutely aware how outdated my nursing skills were and realized that I wouldn’t even be safe to flip on a light switch. The state-of-the-art machines were daunting. I never thought that three years later…… Continue reading  I Am Grateful to the Nurses

Patients Change Us: A Formative Nursing Experience — Off the Charts

From boliston, via Flickr Many years ago, I was given the greatest gift by a patient who had no idea he would change my life and define my professional outlook as a nurse. While not every nurse will be fortunate enough to have such an explicit experience of the effect of the care they provide… via…… Continue reading Patients Change Us: A Formative Nursing Experience — Off the Charts

The Surreal Hospital Experience

My husband was discharged from the hospital following two heart valve replacements, and a week later was readmitted with a side effect of the surgery that occurs ten percent of the time. He was taken to his room directly from the ER. I hadn’t the foresight to bring along my coloring book and pencils—mindless relaxing…… Continue reading The Surreal Hospital Experience

Hearing Zebras

Zebra is the American medical slang for arriving at an exotic medical diagnosis when a more commonplace explanation is more likely.[1] It is shorthand for the aphorism coined in the late 1940s by Dr. Theodore Woodward, professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who instructed his medical interns: “When you hear hoofbeats, think…… Continue reading Hearing Zebras

There Are Some Patients We Never Forget

When you have been a nurse as long as I have there are patients who take residence in your memories and resurface frequently. They could almost be family except they have a short history in your li… Source: There Are Some Patients We Never Forget

Unconventional Nursing

This Post from 2012–written by my fellow nursing classmate, Ruth Donoghue–describes an episode occurring in the early ’90s. Early ‘90’s December NAKED IN THE DELIVERY ROOM Nursery in a Catholic hospital where 5,000 babies pass through in a year The call comes via unit secretary A nurse is requested as soon as possible to pick…… Continue reading Unconventional Nursing

My Mother’s Boyfriend

Happy Mother’s Day. My mother died the day before Mother’s Day sixteen years ago. Each year at this time my memories of Mom revolve around both her life and death. Her last few years weren’t what I would have predicted. When Ernie and I moved from the Midwest to Maryland in 1993, Mom came with…… Continue reading My Mother’s Boyfriend

Nurses’ Books Need More Media Attention

In my last post, I told you about a couple of books I discovered—short story collections written by nurses. Lynn Rosack wrote a comment on my last post reminding me that Echo Heron, whose book I covered, Emergency 24/7: Nurses of the Emergency Room (2015) had written other nursing books. One of them, Intensive Care:…… Continue reading Nurses’ Books Need More Media Attention