Spirit is courage, strength, character, fortitude, and soul. Do you think nursing requires any of these? Absolutely! With 22 million nurses in this country, we are the nation’s largest resource of healthcare providers and, dare I say it, probably one of the nation’s unhealthiest. We have thrived by taking on ever more responsibility with certifications and specialties, but somewhere along the way we have lost sight of taking care of our most important asset—ourselves.
As we celebrate nurses week next month (May 6-12), we can reclaim our spirit for nursing not only by taking responsibility for ourselves, but through supporting every other nurse in the process as well. The following list of action items isn’t complex or new. We all know it in our hearts already, but we aren’t all doing it. Let’s take ownership and responsibilities for our units, our specialties, professional organizations and ourselves. Because you can’t give what you don’t have, the first person you have to take care of is yourself. Do it in these 10 ways:
1. Open to grace. Get up 15 ‘earlier and before you ever step onto your unit, deliberately set your intention for the day. Who do you want to be? How do you choose to show up? What is most important today?
2. Take a deep breath. Before you respond, react, or rake a patient, family member, physician, or other staff member over the coals, pause, listen, take a deep breath and really think about how you will choose to respond.
3. Look them in the eye. Make direct eye contact with everyone you communicate with, both speaking and listening, from the dietary aide to the orthopedic resident.
4. Eat, drink, and be relieved. Schedule your breaks and meals with your team and make sure everyone gets theirs. Ask how you can help, not if you can help when someone has not gotten their break.
5. Refuse to participate. When you witness negative back-biting, gossiping, or resentment-building comments, do not engage, in fact ask, “Have you talked to (the person being beaten-up) about this?”
6. Smile and say please and thank you. You can’t imagine how powerful these three words are—and how underused they are.
7. Do not tolerate anything less from anyone on your team. You are the role model every single moment, for families, other departments, and other nurses.
8. Transition. When you leave your shift, be intentional about transitioning to home by reviewing your day and noting what you did really well. Play a special piece of music, visualize crossing a bridge between work and home, so you can be fully present when you reach your front door.
9.Be grateful. For the most part, nursing positions are recession-proof and while other professionals are out of work, you could probably pick up an extra shift this week, if you really wanted to.
10. Choose carefully. Remember that you choose how you stand up, show up, and speak up every day—both at work and at home. You can choose to struggle and suffer, or you can choose to thrive and reclaim your spirit!
Posted by dianesieg 
Posted by dianesieg 
