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My journey to nursing


My maternal grandmother, my Mamaw, came to help my mom on the day my father died in June 1968, but she suff ered a massive stroke one week after his death. So at age 13, I began my career as a nurse, spending my summer caring for Mamaw, fi rst at the hospital and then at home. A retired nurse, she became my mentor when I returned in the fall of 1981 to care for her once more. At that time, I was a jazz musician who always had a day gig. I performed in clubs, restaurants and festivals, and I also held jobs at a record shop, restaurant and bookstore. But when my grandmother was diagnosed with metastatic cancer, my jazz career was placed on the back burner.


I returned to my hometown of Thibodaux and began my nursing studies at Nicholls State University. I rented rooms in my family home to three students in my nursing class. We were my grandmother’s caregivers and her students. Whenever she had bad days, we would have her sing the hymns she had selected for her funeral. The music always gave her a lift. She passed away during our second semester, but she taught us volumes about caring for a dying patient and bore testimony to the power of music.


My initial plan was to become a home health nurse, and I always traveled with my fl ute or sax and treated my homebound patients to a song or two. One of these patients gave me the title “jazz nurse,” and it has stayed with me.


Although initially drawn to home health, I only worked


in the fi eld for a year. In 1984, I returned to college to complete my BSN, took a full-time labor and delivery position in Thibodaux and continued performing music. For the past 30-plus years, my focus has been maternal- child nursing. I have always incorporated music and laughter into my nursing practice — whether in L&D, high-risk OB or the NICU — and I always encourage nurses to use music in their own practice.


The healing art of music


Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge where I work boasts an Arts in Medicine program that benefi ts staff , patients and visitors. The mission of the healing arts program is to provide opportunities for everyone to experience the arts. Although our program is only a few years old and relies predominantly on volunteers, it has made a signifi cant impact. Armed with the evidence that art heals, the hospital off ers painting, journaling and other arts activities for patients and provides classes for the staff and visitors from the community.


As a member of the healing arts committee, I serve as coordinator for a series of monthly roving concerts featuring local musicians. As the name implies, the performer roams throughout the hospital off ering musical interludes anywhere a group of people may be gathered. The concerts are designed to treat patients, visitors and staff to an uplifting musical moment. The positive evalua- tions reaffi rm our belief in the value of these concerts.


Photos by Don Kadair


Betsy Braud Hodnett, RN, (photo on previous page) often performs with other musicians during roving concerts at Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, La.


One of my fondest memories is that of an elderly woman whose


two daughters had her convinced that she was hallucinating about hearing a fl ute. When I arrived at her cot and off ered a song, she looked at her daughters with venom in her eyes and said, “I told you I heard a fl ute!” Her son, Donald, a fl autist in a military band in our nation’s capital,


called me the next day. He was jubilant that I had shared music with his mother and expressed his deep gratitude. In 2015, 10 years after Katrina, I visited Washington, D.C., and


was treated to a tour of Mount Vernon. My husband and I were invited to place a wreath inside George Washington’s tomb, a special prayer ceremony was performed and then Donald and I played a beautiful duet of Amazing Grace. I’ll always treasure that memory. As I look toward retirement, I plan to continue my journey as


a jazz artist performing in nightclubs, at festivals and in schools. I have two self-produced CDs — “Do You Want to Be Healed?” and “Just What the Doctor Ordered.” I have toured with my band, The Jazz Nurse Prescription, and have performed in Brazil, France and Germany. I will share my gift of music as long as I am able. •


Betsy Braud Hodnett, BSN, RN, works in the NICU at Woman’s Hospital of Baton Rouge, La., where she also has served as a staff nurse and educator for 26 years. Braud Hodnett’s CDs are available at CDBaby.com. Her website is JazzNurse.com.


TO COMMENT, email editor@nurse.com.


Memorable moments Music can have a signifi cant impact; I witnessed it in the chaotic days after Hurricane Katrina. Baton Rouge was a clearinghouse for victims evacuated from fl ooded homes in New Orleans. I volunteered at a temporary hospital as a nurse for two nights. The shell-shocked faces of patients indicated to me that these victims needed more than nursing care. With this in mind; I returned the following night armed with my fl ute, a bag of Mardi Gras beads, and reinforcements — my daughter. After that, I had an open invitation to return to the shelter and


play music. This shelter on the Louisiana State University campus and other shelters in Baton Rouge were open for several weeks as refugees of the storm were relocated. I visited them every day until they were all closed.


2016 • Visit us at NURSE.com 15


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