This new years, I am working a night shift. I am actually pretty excited to watch the fireworks from the windows of our hospital. I have heard you get an awesome view. So, because I will be busy at work on the actual New Years Eve, and sleeping most of January the 1st, I'll post this a little early.
My Nursing New Years Resolutions
1. Have More Energy
-> Is this even possible? During the long, cold, wintery months when I go to work in the dark and come home from work in the dark, I really notice my inner clock malfunctioning. I eat everything in sight and I am still starving. I feel like a zombie on my days off and I am unable to peel myself from the couch. I am too exhausted to be productive, and my time away from work starts to really suffer.
One goal for this year is to have enough energy so I can give the most I can to my patients and also enjoy my days off. I am considering investing in good black out blinds so I can sleep soundly during the day. I am also going to try to exercise more often (how original for a new years resolution list!). Exercising increases your energy, or so they say. Even short walks in the sunshine will make me feel better.
2. Be more assertive at work
-> I am sure everyone knows a passive nurse that allows herself to be manipulated by needy or controlling patients. I am often that nurse. I find myself in situations where I should stick up for myself but don't. I am the nurse who answers the call-bell and willingly does things for patients that they are often able to do themselves. I have witnessed many nurses who respond angrily to patients in these types of situations, but that's not the approach I want to take either. I want to work on being the type of nurse that both respects and commands respects from her patient and coworkers.
3. Become Professionally Involved
-> Us nurses are great at complaining, but often not so great at effecting change. My health care system is designed so nurses feel like they are at the bottom of the food chain and powerless to make a difference. Even small changes at the workplace level can affect the quality of our work life and patient care. I am sure we've all noticed certain aspects of our daily nursing routine that could be improved but have never spoken up about it. However, recognizing the need for change and bringing about change are two very different things. This year, I would like to become more involved with my union and nursing association so I can try to start turning my complaints into action.
Hope everyone has a safe, happy and healthy new year!
-Natalie
I love lots of things about being a nurse.
But my favourite thing about nursing, and what brings me the best job satisfaction, is being able to make people comfortable.
Specifically, I love washing people. I work under a hospital authority that does not have the budget for nursing aides to assist in offloading some of the physical and less technical aspects of nursing care. The bed making, feeding, bedpan emptying tasks all fall under the duties of us Registered Nurses. And the best of these duties is washing.
I love filling up the steely cold bedpans with hot, sudsy water. The smell of hospital soap is very comforting and familiar to me. I gather all the scratchy facecloths and towels (seriously, has anyone heard of fabric softener around here?) and bring them to the bedside. And then, for the next fifteen minutes or so, it's just me and the patient. And sometimes if the patient is physically heavy or hard to turn, another nurse helps too. When it's just me and a co-worker, the washing is like a choreographed rhythmic dance.
I try to make bed baths like miniature spa experiences. I use lotions and creams and powders. I brush dentures and wash hair and rub backs, hopefully restoring some pre-hospital feelings of cleanliness. And since I have never been in the hospital as an inpatient, I cannot confirm that having your back washed is the best feeling ever. But judging by the reactions I get from my patients, it must be.
There are a lot of RN's out there that think these less skilled aspects of nursing are beneath their university-level education. But I disagree. On the contrary, it's when I am best able to use my assessment skills. Washing gives me the opportunity to assess skin integrity, which is so often compromised in elderly, fragile patients. Turning someone over in the bed allows me to evaluate pain control. But most importantly, I am able to get to know my patient, which is often difficult to do in a hurried, impersonal environment that the hospital provides. I get to know my patient's hopes, fears, and what they care about.
So pour me some soapy water. There's lots of washing to do.
Welcome to my attempt at writing a nursing blog! Although I will not post anything here that would break patient confidentiality, I will give myself a pseudonym. I will call myself Natalie because I have always liked that name.
Also, to protect my secret identity, I will not disclose my hometown to you readers. I will say though that I am Canadian, I live in a city, and work in a relatively large hospital. I am your run of the mill surgical bedside nurse. And despite the hardships that most nurses complain about (and I do my share of complaining!), I love my job and the work I do.
I am in my twenties. This is much younger than the average nurse in Canada, who is in his/her forties! I graduated in 2010, so I am still relatively new to this whole nursing thing. I am married, and have no children yet except for my two kitties. Also, I love to write, and I think nursing issues are often talked about on the front lines but not very well communicated to the public. And that's where this blog will hopefully come in.
Afterall, writers write what they know about. After four years of working, I know I am no expert, especially compared to that average Canadian nurse. But I have had my share of twelve hour shifts. I have taken care of people who are sick, scared, dying, angry and helpless. I have also been able to witness moments of generosity, kindness, wisdom and love. I have learned so much far, but I know this learning will never be finished.
Happy reading!
