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.

WHAT I LEARNED

  I am writing my memoir because of what I learned when I ran a clinic on the tenth floor of a Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) high-rise twenty years ago. All my patients were over sixty years of age. I was an inexperienced nurse practitioner and new to working with older people. I learned that…… Continue reading WHAT I LEARNED

FEAR OF GETTING OLDER (FOGO)

    It isn’t often that I applaud a drug company. In fact, I can’t remember if I ever have. Here’s to Pfizer for creating an initiative to stimulate dialogue about getting older, which was described in the New York Times business section this past Wednesday (Elliott, Stuart. Pfizer to Inject Youth Into the Aging…… Continue reading FEAR OF GETTING OLDER (FOGO)

I HAD A DREAM

  In preparation for moving I discover the darndest things as I unpack dusty boxes stored in the attic untouched for years. This time it’s a mercury sphygmomanometer, packed in its original carton along with a “limited warranty” card that should have been filled out within ten days of purchase. Looks like I didn’t even…… Continue reading I HAD A DREAM

THE HEALTH WAGON

In the last post I wrote about Sandeep Jauhar’s essay in the New York Times, Nurses Are Not Doctors. Dr. Jauhar doesn’t condone independent nurse practitioner practice and he suggests that in order to expand the number of primary care physicians their salaries should be increased. Somehow that last statement has hounded me. Not so…… Continue reading THE HEALTH WAGON

NURSES DON’T WANT TO BE DOCTORS

For the life of me I don’t know why the New York Times published Sandeep Jauhar’s essay, “Nurses Are Not Doctors,” in the Opinion Pages on April 30, 2014. His essay argued that nurse practitioners shouldn’t practice independently. As a nurse practitioner it’s obvious that I wouldn’t agree with his opinion but his case was…… Continue reading NURSES DON’T WANT TO BE DOCTORS

Storytelling for Policy Advocacy

Josephine Ensign takes nursing stories to a higher level–to promote policy advocacy. Read on– JOSEPHINE ENSIGN When I tell people that my work focuses on narrative advocacy, they mostly look at me funny and ask, “What’s that?” It is a more concise way of saying ‘storytelling for policy advocacy.’ A common definition of narrative is… Continue reading Storytelling for Policy Advocacy

INVISIBLE Part 3 of 3

I trudged into the nursing station. The phone sat on an empty desk. Mary, the stocky, dark-haired charge nurse, faced the chart rack at the other end of the room. I avoided acknowledging her presence, keeping my eyes on the floor. Any word from her might shake my resolve. I stood by the desk and…… Continue reading INVISIBLE Part 3 of 3