fill your cup: self-care in healthcare

Five years ago I graduated from nursing school and this August will mark my 5 year anniversary of working as a Registered Nurse. "Nursing week" has made me think about what nursing means to me and how the concept of what a nurse is has changed for me over time. In April of 2017 I left hospital beside care and took a position in an outpatient surgical clinic. It was sort of scary to leave the bedside. Was I still a nurse if I wasn't juggling 5 patients, an admission, and a transfer? Was I still a nurse if I wasn't putting Foley's in, assessing patients head-to-toe, and monitoring vital signs? Was I still a nurse if I wasn't inserting IVs, teaching my patient about their new discharge medications, and assisting them safely to the bathroom? Was I still a nurse if I wasn't helping other nurses turn, lift, move, transport, assess, and code a patient? Would I still be a nurse? Last September I left direct patient care completely and took a position in the Q...

It's Nurse Week again. It used to be marked by the giving of some trivial item, such as a coaster or an umbrella emblazoned with some corporate symbol. Most health systems have taken that away saying it was too costly. It used to be marked by food but even that isn't really done anymore. And honestly if we nurses want food we can organize amongst ourselves a potluck with our own peeps/crew that is more meaningful than a Little Debbie cake or a Snickers bar thrown in our direction. The intent behind these gestures is good I'm sure, but it's not necessary. What is it then that nurses want? It's what we want every single day . Not just on "nurses day." We want to be respected. That's it. And if there is one thing that has come out lately in the news the past couple years is that nurses aren't respected. They aren't respected by police officers. Officer Jeff Payne forcibly arrested Nurse  They aren't respected by senators. Nurses play...

Today I would like you to go back to the day you passed your nursing boards. Remember how nervous, exhausted, stressed you were before that test. Remember how much effort and energy and time you put into completing the prerequisites, taking countless tests, completing hundreds of clinical hours, performing endless reading, studying, and memorizing. All of those things that were necessary to take the test that would launch you into a profession in which peoples lives are in your hands. Remember the joyous exuberance when you learned you passed. Remember when you gathered with your family, who had sacrificed too during this journey, and celebrated this milestone. Remember the encouragement you got and gave in sharing the experience with your peers. Remember getting your first nursing job and actual starting doing the work that no test really prepares you for. Remember the patients who's bedside you were at watching and caring for them from dawns early light to the darkest of nigh...

A few weeks ago I was able to participate in a Managing Conflict Course that my work is piloting. It was a 4 hour session which included an amazing speaker with a background as a communications college professor and experience as a professional mediator corporately and for private couples. Items on the agenda included: understanding your attitudes and beliefs about conflict, conflict is a natural part of team growth, examining your individual conflict style, knowing our "Hot Buttons" or triggers, levels of conflict: known when to engage, and lastly developing skills to managing conflict. Since I think we can agree that conflict is an inventible natural part of life, let's move on to what conflict means when you find it present in your life at work and at home. Lessons of Conflict: Something we are doing is no longer useful. It's time to refocus or redirect. We've lost self-clarity. We have an unmet need. We need to reclaim something we have ...

As we all know too well, there is no magic gizmo that fixes problems permanently. Anyone who has bought something off an infomercial can attest to that. Just as there is no one time fix for an apple shaped body, there is no one time fix for the conflicts that we face daily as healthcare professionals. The point of today message is about getting comfortable with conflict. Most think of conflict as a negative thing, something to be avoided whenever possible, but conflict is a natural normal part of life. Accepting that conflict will happen and not being afraid of that truth is definitely an important beginning point to managing conflict. There is a important distinction that was recently pointed out to me - managing conflict versus conflict resolution. Conflict resolution sounds nice, tidy, and final, but conflict is rarely ever a one and done issue. Conflict can come to us on multiple fronts at work and at home. Conflict "resolution" with one peer can...

We who provide excellent healthcare services to others also require excellent healthcare services. Those of us working in healthcare also need healthcare. RNs, MDs, CNAs (insert your letters here) need healthcare that is transparent, available, effective, safe, and affordable. We are asked to provide a lot in the care we give a patient, but it's just as important that we be allowed to expect that level of care in return. I am not talking about "special treatment" here. I don't think there should be one experience for the CMO and a different experience for the incoming EMS MVA trauma patient with no insurance. Anyone and everyone should receive an excellent healthcare experience. We are patients too sometimes. We who care, advocate, comfort, and communicate with the vulnerable strangers assigned to our worklist on any given day, need to be treated with as much sensitivity and respect when we are the vulnerable stranger/patient. We care for the ...