Anne Boykin Institute

for the advancement of caring in nursing

2016 Summer Academy

Jennifer Reich, 2016 Artist-in-Residence

Jennifer (Jen) Reich, PhD, RN, NC-BC is a nurse coach, poet, and storyteller. People, animals, nature, and all aspects of the shared human experiences inspire her poems. She is a passionate explore of the healing potential of the creative arts. Dr. Reich loves to write poems from the road and trail as well as at her neighborhood coffee shop. When not traveling she lives and writes in Phoenix, AZ. Her daily blog can be found at poetry-not-poverty@blogspot.com

   “At a recent Summer Academy grounded in caring, I was invited to participate as Nurse Artist-In-Residence and create poetry that represented the essence of the conference. This would be a different process of writing than my usual, so I was both excited and a bit nervous. I reflected on these feelings just prior to the conference. As the participants met for the first time, I realized we shared this experience of excitement and unknowing. This inspired me to write my first poem, “An Opening to Caring.”

        As the conference began, we were invited to create a space where all voices would be heard and honored. I did not have my laptop open, and initially wrote on a napkin so I would not miss the opportunity to capture the sacredness of the moment: “Anne’s Poem” emerged. As I listened further, ‘joy’ was described as stemming from our caring process and I felt inspired to pen a little rhyme about this emotion. As we engaged more in dialogue centered on how to build the foundation for new research projects in caring science, “An Ocean of Caring Science” came through.

        The overarching theme of our time is revealed in “The Language of Caring,” a poem created in a co-creative process. I asked each participant to provide a word or two that they would use to describe the language of caring. I then composed a poem using these words as well as the feelings I experienced as both observer and participant. The last poem, “In Closing,” speaks to the deep knowledge that although our time together was ending, our journeys were ongoing and evolving.”

CARING: IN MOVEMENTS

Jennifer Reich