NURSES: CREATING A BETTER SOCIETY

-THIS IS A STEP BY STEP TO HAPPINESS, ENJOY THE PROCESS-

Today, I want to start with a simple question.

HOW FRAGILE ARE WE WHEN WE SEEK THE WAY IT DOES NOT BELONG TO US?

In a simple day, we take thousands of decisions, some are automatics, some requires our thinking. Sometimes they are tough decisions, sometimes they are not. They all require an effort in order to obtain a result.

In my opinion, even not taking decisions, is a decision, so however, you want to put it we MUST take decisions to survive.

When it’s up to decide very important ones we are challenged, naturally, because we feel like taking that particular decision might change our future in good or bad.

I think there is not right or wrong in taking decisions, as long as we take full responsibility for the consequences of that decision.

The thing that worries me  the most though, is that sometimes people choose not being aware of whom they really are and that leads to inevitable sufferance.

The inevitable sufferance comes easily from the disassociation between who you really are and what you decided. Too often the decision is taken following a standardized way of thinking where we do not really decide for what is better for us but for what the society wants us to choose. It takes people to suffer because it’s just a useless journey toward something is never going to make you happy.

In life like at work, it is very important to do what is likely to be in accordance with who we are.

Team work

I WANT TO APPLY THIS THINKING IN NURSING

Nursing is one of those jobs that requires insight. When I say it requires insight I mean that the person that takes the decision to be a nurse has to think very well if it is in line with herself/HIMSELF.

Why do I say that? Because too often I see nurses that they get burn out or end up unhappy in what they do. They do not understand the purpose of nursing because they have never thought about it, but overall they have never thought about what it is important for themselves.

Nursing is one of those jobs that requires insight. When I say it requires insight I mean that the person that takes the decision to be a nurse has to think very well if it is in line with herself. Why do I say that? Because too often I see nurses that they get burn out or end up unhappy in what they do. They do not understand the purpose of nursing because they have never thought about it, but overall they have never thought about what it is important for themselves.

When you skip a healthy process of decisions, which begins first knowing yourself, then about your main values and the purpose of your life, when it's time to choose for a career path you are doomed. The best of you will be taken because there is no way out from the sadness of doing something it does not belong to the true you.

Nursing is giving. You give and give and give and most of the times nothing comes back.

Only if you have a strong CORE, a strong PURPOSE of WHY you are doing what you are doing and it is supported by an insight of ‘this is right, I am doing good, it makes me happy’ kind of thought YOU CAN BE A NURSE. If it's the opposite leave it now.

Nursing can be tricky in the sense that the rewards do not come in the form we witness in the normal life. Let’s be honest, anybody needs a reward from what we do.

It is the same in nursing.

When we work with sick people the rewards from them, might not exist at all. I am not blaming the patients, they are sick and they are going through a very bad moment of their life, we cannot expect from them the big thanks we often deserve. The reward has to come from the inside, from inside ourselves.

HOW?

When you decide to take nursing as your job and it is in line with whom you are, even in that case it can be hard to find happiness in what you do.

Resilience, in this case, is very important. Your capability to be resilient in your daily work as a nurse stays in the fact that you need to give, even when sometimes you don’t have. You can only do it if you have a strong sense of purpose.

The nurse, in my opinion, has to go to work and think ‘ I am making a difference in the world’.

This strong feeling of making an impact on the world, to make the difference every action we take toward the patients and the relatives have inside it a purpose. If your purpose in life is making a difference, changing people's life, giving them the support they need in their pathway toward healthier days (or sometimes toward their last days with dignity), but expecting almost nothing in return, nursing is your future.

It sounds magnificent but not so quick. Expecting nothing in return is very difficult, almost unbearable when you have a series of bad days at work. We, nurses, as human beings need to be recognized for what we do. The kind of nurses they look for it in the patients or relatives are more likely to be disappointed as most of the time, the due thanks we deserve are not given.

The nurses they are able to feel rewarded by the fact they are making a difference in this world by just helping people in need, they are the ones they will never burn out.

The main difference is that in this case, the reward comes from their selves and they know they are doing well even though nobody tells them. Very tricky but there is a massive difference between these two process of thinking. Having said all of these, I still think sometimes we are not recognized enough for what we do. It is probably our responsibility not to be recognized enough. We do not have to do more, it would be impossible, we just need to take more action toward the idea that the society has toward nursing.

USING NURSING TO MAKE IT THE PILLAR FOR A MORE POSITIVE SOCIETY

One of the ways to work our way up to the top is not to have more but to utilize what we have at its best.

One of the biggest resources we have is our colleagues. I won’t ever stop saying how important is to create a bond with our nurse's colleague, investing in this resourceful relationship could make the difference for the future of nursing.

It is from having extraordinary relationships with your colleagues, having a nice environment at work that can make the difference.That is the way you build resilience at work. I have the experience that whatever happen at work (even the worst day ever) if you can count on your colleagues that change everything.The 'worst day ever' becomes 'WE MADE IT TO THE WORST DAY EVER'.

Maybe I am a mad dreamer, but who cares?!

You can then look at each others eyes in the end of the shifts (perhaps hugging) and see how good we have done together. The less busy could have a drink or dinner together and talk trough the day, BECAUSE WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT OUR DAY (with the one they lived it), ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE SO INTENSE. We experience from the most beautiful emotions to the most beautiful ones. WE NEED EACH OTHER!

THERE IS A BUT

How many times do we feel there is not enough support between each other? How many times do we treat us worse than our worst enemy, how many times we are not grateful of the help our colleague gave to us?

Now, I am not saying It’s easy to create this change, but I am saying there are easy techniques to achieve it, why not trying from today? Now! 

The idea of a new positive class of nurses, stronger than ever, recognized for the best qualities we have like: kindness, compassion, expertise and professionalism. I want to see nurses shining high like they have never done before! Because we deserve it all!

Shall we take this challenge?

-THIS IS A STEP BY STEP TO HAPPINESS, ENJOY THE PROCESS-