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Edgar Catacutan, RN, BSN, who works in the emergency department at St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee, has established a solid reputation for his impressive shots of landscape and nature scenes. “I like to capture quiet moments on film,” said Catacutan, who finds photography a great way to relax.

It was the middle of the night and the residents of the Midwest nursing home were asleep in their rooms.

Several nurses, including Ann Kerperien, RN, of Lenzburg, Ill., were charting at the nurses station when they first saw a light floating down the hallway. At first, the nurses thought it was a joke. They stood amazed as the luminous light moved toward them, and then watched as it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

For Kerperien, observing strange occurrences and supernatural events wasn’t a new experience. As a nurse with more than 25 years’ experience, she had documented many unexplained encounters.

“The public never hears about these experiences because nurses are taught patient confidentiality, and we realize that admitting these encounters could harm our own credibility,” Kerperien said.

For years, she was reluctant to talk about her encounters, fearing others might think she was crazy. Only after hearing many of her patients and colleagues describe similar experiences did Kerperien decide to chronicle her experiences in her book A Dying Man Never Lies [www.nurseghost.cc].

Kerperien is one of many nurses throughout the United States who have found a way to use their creative abilities to help patients. These caregivers channel their talents in writing, photography, illustration, and performing to enrich their own lives and those of their patients.

“I often use stories of these encounters to help comfort my patients and their families during the death and dying process,” Kerperien said. “My patients were so fascinated and calmed by these events that I decided to turn all of my notes into a book.”

Kerperien’s first unexplained encounter occurred in 1975 when she was working as a nurses aide at a retirement community. Since then, she has observed countless strange occurrences and supernatural experiences and has talked with numerous patients and medical colleagues who have had similar experiences but were afraid to confide in anyone.

“I don’t have the answers as to why these events occur, but after years of seeing and hearing about these experiences I do believe in life after death,” Kerperien said. “People talk about seeing spirits and ghosts in churches and on battleships all the time, why is it hard to believe that they exist within hospitals and nursing homes?”

Kerperien is at work on her second book, Angels Fly Before They Die, a continuation of unexplained experiences. She is a frequent guest speaker and has been invited to London this summer to do a book signing.

“One of the hospitals I will be visiting in England closed down one of its units because of all the unexplained supernatural events that have occurred there,” Kerperien said. “After countless experiences, all the doctors and nurses refused to work on that particular floor.”

As she works to complete her second book, Kerperien encourages the author within all of her patients and colleagues. “Everyone has a story to tell,” she said. “Even if people record their memoirs as a legacy for their family.”