I Thought I Was Here to Help

When healthcare focuses on power and not people, practitioners and patients get left behind. Maggie's path toward nursing began with a love for the show ER and a desire to help people. As she began her career, though, she realized how ill-prepared she was for the mental health challenges and administrative demands that face modern-day registered nurses. Now, she extends a compassionate call to young and early-career nurses to understand the systemic challenges facing their chosen profession. With an emphasis on the power of nurse leadership and the necessity of mindfulness and intentional self-care, she highlights how becoming an advocate for one's patients and oneself is a path toward improved health outcomes. For dedicated nurses just starting their careers or trying to push through a slump, I Thought I Was Here to Help starts a gentle conversation and challenges readers to rethink the handmaiden and hero archetypes in nursing. Maggie takes a close look at her healthcare career journey, highlighting the expectations that draw students to nursing . . . and the exhaustion and medical burnout that can drive them away. Through vivid clinical vignettes and research-backed insights, Maggie shows nurses they are not alone in grappling with the harsh realities of their profession. In seven transformative lessons, Maggie offers hope for the future and calls upon nurses to unite as advocates for their patients, their profession, and themselves. Her gripping narrative serves as a guiding light for nurses ready to embrace their true purpose as healthcare advocates.