Nov 3, 2007 Former nurse publishes spiritual account of her career By Jennifer Crossley, Staff Writer

Angela Posey-Arnold A silver cross hangs around Angela Posey-Arnold's neck, almost blending into her blue shirt. Her ornament of faith may be subtle, but Arnold is not one to hide her light under a bushel; as the children's song says - she lets it shine. Arnold's faith has served as a steady foundation throughout her nursing career - faith that became firm with ample testing - and led her to a new vocation, writing.

Before nursing, Arnold had succumbed to the writing bug and considered studying journalism in college. She chronicled her nursing career in her second book, "The Nightingale Protocol," by Publish America, available now on amazon.com and other online bookstores Nov. 12. "I think a lot of times nurses loose that (compassion) because nursing is stressful," the 47-year-old Arnold said. "Nurses don't always get the strength and encouragement they need and that's why I wrote the book," she said. The book advises current nurses and those thinking about going into the field on how to avoid burnout. It also has 36 weeks of devotionals. After graduating with a degree in sociology from the University of North Alabama in the 1980s, Arnold, unsure of her career direction, worked at a pediatrician's office in Florence where she became interested in nursing. Arnold went back to UNA and graduated in 1988 with her nursing degree. She worked in pediatric and home health care before becoming a director of nursing at a nursing home in 1994, a job that yielded both joy and stress.

Arnold prized her one-on-one time with patients the most. "As a nurse, I think you have to have that compassion for people; you have to have that love for people to be able to take of them," she said. "A robot couldn't do our job." In 2001, Arnold was hospitalized for injuries she sustained after a truck hit her while she was driving to work one morning. She heard the truck turn over. She saw it coming toward her and was then thrown several feet from her car, she said. Arnold's spleen exploded as a result, putting an end to her nursing career. Her other injuries were scarce - she didn't even break a fingernail. "I never felt the impact of that truck hitting me," Arnold said. "Through that, (God) has given me a message to people that we don't have to be afraid as Christians - he is so close," Arnold said.

After recovering from her accident, she turned to writing full time. In 2003, Arnold published a story in the Christian magazine, Guideposts and self- published her first book. "After I had my wreck, my writing became my job and I knew I wanted to write a book for nursing because I just had so much I felt like I wanted to say to (nursing students) and to help them." Making it through the demands of nursing school is one of the topics Arnold shares in the book. "In nursing school, they make it very hard to see if you're made up of what it takes to be a nurse," she said. "If you survive nursing school, you're probably going to be fine in nursing." Arnold planned to co-author her book with Carol Hayes, a friend she met in nursing school. That wouldn't happen. Hayes died in an auto accident in February 2006. Arnold dedicated "Protocol" to her.

Arnold witnessed notable changes during her 13 years as a nurse, including a shift to an increasing amount of paperwork - something she feels is to the detriment of patients. "The paperwork is overwhelming. It's taken nurses away from the bedside," she said. "It's such a high-stress job," said Valerie Coan, a nursing administrator and former co-worker of Arnold's. "Any insight that can be gained from a book is so valuable to that business." Despite the stresses of nursing, Arnold remembers many laughs as well. "You may go into one patient's room and they may be the grouchiest person alive and they may bite your head off or throw something at you, but the next patient you go to will just appreciate you so much," she said. One such patient expressed her gratitude after Arnold removed a splinter from the patient's hand that a doctor forgot to remove. "From then on, she said that I was better than any doctor she ever had," Arnold said, laughing.

In November, Guideposts will feature her article "Grace and the Angels Sing." After that, Arnold plans on possibly giving Christian fiction a try. The former Shoals resident currently resides in Hillsboro with Bankhead National Forest in her backyard. She hopes her current book will inspire nurses to remember why they chose to go into the profession in the first place. "Nursing is really a calling ... You are so close to people's hearts, and I think you've got to have that compassion and care, and faith gives you that. Being a Christian gives you that. I say in the book you're taking care of God's children and I think with that blessing he gives you a lot of responsibility."

Jennifer Crossley can be reached at 740-5743 or jennifer.crossley@timesdaily.com.
Copyright © 2007 TimesDaily

About the Book Author 

Angela Posey-Arnold is a published Christian Author and retired RN. In addition to an array of writing projects she owns the web site www.angelaposeyarnold.com that features her writing and her new book, The Nightingale Protocol.

Angela lives with her husband of 20 years in beautiful Northwest Alabama on 12 acres of woods adjacent to the Bankhead National Forest and the Tennessee River. Her log home is right in the middle of those 12 acres. Her writing and music studio, Pebble East Studios, is located in the loft of the log home.-The peace and serenity of her surroundings are conducive to the pursuit of her passions, Christian writing and music.

She has been playing the piano since the age of 8 and currently is the resident pianist at Courtland Baptist Church, in historic Courtland Alabama.

She is widely published with 2 Christian Non-fiction Books, many short stories and Christian articles, devotionals and poetry.

Her work is also being published in an anthology and other collections. She is a regular contributing writer for the popular e-zine, www.4Him2U.com.

Visit her web site at www.angelaposeyarnold.com, her blog at www.shoutlife.com/angelaposeyarnold or her personal news network at www.nightingale.pnn.com.

Author of the newly released book for nurses and caregivers, THE NIGHTINGALE PROTOCOL, is available at her personal online bookstore www.authorsden.com/angelaposeyarnold, and other major online book retailers and local bookstores in her area.

Her first book, The Lions and the Adders by Anna Grace Poschetï was self published and is available on Amazon