fill your cup: self-care in healthcare

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 ...

Welcome! I am a Registered Nurse in the Midwest. I have worked as a nurse for over 4 years and very early on I suffered from depression and burnout related to my job. This blog hopes to help primarily nurses but anyone really who is finding themselves burnt out at their job and stressed out in their life. I am glad you found this page and hope it offers you some encouragement today. Whatever your role is in healthcare - CNA, MA, RN, MD, insert your abbreviation - our work is about helping others. It's my belief that those who make the greatest difference in healthcare are those who come to work wanting to be useful to the team and helpful to their patients. But despite the seeming simplicity of that belief many of us working in healthcare today are burnt out, stressed out, and checked out.   Nursing is not an easy profession and anyone who says it is has never been a nurse. Nursing is dangerous . Nurses are verbally abused and physically assaulted by th...