Theresa Brown, PhD, RN, New York Times columnist, AJN contributing editor, and author of a new book, Healing: When a Nurse Becomes a Patient

·36 min·3 clips

Theresa Brown discovered healthcare's unkindness to patients only after becoming a breast cancer patient herself.

Theresa Brown speaks from both sides of care. Shawn Kennedy introduces her as a nurse-writer, then the interview moves quickly into what illness did to ordinary routines. Brown describes treatment as one more load on top of being sick and unsettled. Parking felt harder than biking, so she rode to treatment. Kennedy does not turn that into a neat bravery story. Brown says she was not setting out to be tougher than cancer, then allows that maybe some of that was there. Mostly, the bike helped her feel whole for a little while. That is where the interview has its best bite. Serious illness shows up as tasks: parking, tickets, machines, appointments, getting there, getting through it. Kennedy keeps pulling those details back toward nursing. What can feel routine to staff may feel like another loss of control to a patient. The pink ribbon section brings a sharper edge. Brown's dislike of breast cancer's assigned color opens a careful conversation about symbols and the identities patients get handed. The tone does not turn combative; it stays useful. By the close, Brown is clear that the book is not there to scold nurses. She wants more thoughtfulness. Kennedy adds the pressure of pandemic strain and acute care work, while still holding the line that patients and colleagues need better treatment.

As heard by us

A grounded patient story that turns ordinary treatment logistics into something revealing.

Teresa Brown and Shawn Kennedy keep the episode centered on a simple but hard question: what changes when a nurse becomes the patient? Brown talks about treatment with the same clear detail Kennedy praised in The Shift, and the most memorable moments come from plain logistics…

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Why you'd press play

When you want a nurse's-eye view of becoming the patient.

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