Nurse practitioner Linda Wick has spent more than four decades in medicine, beginning her journey as a six-year-old watching nurses care for her injured brother. In today's story, she recalls the early lessons that shaped her career—from the strict nuns who taught her at the College of St. Scholastica to the life-and-death responsibilities of the ICU and dialysis unit. When a medical emergency reunites her with one of her toughest teachers, Sister Helen, Linda is forced to confront the words that haunted her for years.

Linda originally performed this story live on stage at Intersections, a live storytelling event produced by the Center for the Art of Medicine in Minneapolis in 2024 through our program, The Nocturnists Satellites.

The Nocturnists is made possible by the California Medical Association and donations from listeners like you.

This episode of Stories from the World of Medicine is sponsored by The Physicians Foundation.