Narrative Mindworks joins in celebrating the work of nurses everywhere.
Each of us has directly, or indirectly benefitted from the central and vital roles that nurses play in the health of our families and communities. I am reminded of nurse and friend Andrew Greenway, who I had the privilege to work with for months in the aftermath of 9/11. Andrew has an inherent naturalist narrative approach with both his patients and colleagues. And everyone who works with him has been a recipient of his gifts of deep attention, close listening, and connection.
Andrew is a clinical nurse specialist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center’s Surgical Intensive Care Unit and the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center. In 2022 he won the National Magnet Nurse of the Year Award – an honor given for both excellence and in recognition of innovation and leadership. Like many healthcare providers, Andrew combines his love for medicine with the arts. When he isn’t working at the hospital, he’s busy with another passion, as a frequent lead player at the Elmwood Theater Troupe in Nyack New York.
At the core of the most successful professionals in all fields are people like Andrew, the story keepers who understand that accounts of self and other are essential elements to both personal and career success.
From Health Matters- “Throughout his career Greenway has championed improvements in patient care. His leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic helped guide the nursing staff on caring for critically ill patients.
“Andrew is an outstanding nurse clinician and nurse researcher,” says Rosanne Raso, vice president and chief nursing officer at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. “He has consistently led clinical nurse improvements and innovations, and his contributions to helping train nurses during the COVID-19 surge were instrumental.”
The COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t the first crisis Greenway spent on the front lines. He was working his regular shift on the eighth floor on September 11, 2001, when he first heard that planes had struck the Twin Towers. Greenway took care of patients who suffered from the most severe burn injuries that tragic day.
While he has made a great difference in the lives of his patients, he attributes his successes to his colleagues. “I am so grateful for the NewYork-Presbyterian nursing community that made this Magnet award possible,” says Greenway. “I am surrounded by colleagues who make our hospital and the world a better place. This may be an individual recognition, but it’s a reflection of our collective work in the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center and the Surgical Intensive Care Unit.”
Cheers to Andrew and all the nurses who make a difference in the lives of their patients, families, and colleagues. Thank you for your service and commitment. Nurses are the story keepers who play vital roles as partners listening to patients and helping them tell their stories and forge new narratives in times of communion and crisis.
