Every day of my life a nurse reaches out to me asking for help with a bullying situation at work. It sometimes feels like such a heavy burden.
Think about it – every day I am reminded of the badness in our profession.
Some days, it can feel like a 500 lb weight on my shoulders while I’m climbing Mt. Everest. But don’t feel bad for me. Their stories stoke my fire to eradicate bullying and incivility in healthcare!! And, reading and listening to their stories motivates me to be better, kinder, and more supportive as a way to tip the balance.
However, there are certain times of the year that I feel permitted to put the badness aside and focus on the goodness.
Christmas is one of those times.
And because most humans are focused on the holidays this time of year and not solving complex issues, I thought it would be nice to focus on the goodness this time of year by revisiting the “gifts” I wrote about last year during the month of December.
In my 27 years as a nurse, I’ve admired, been humbled by, and worked along side some of the most amazing nurses in the world.
These nurses not only inspired me to want to be a better nurse, but they inspired me to be a better human. Like Rita Gabriel and Mary Ann Guido; who taught me how to be a good cardiac nurse; Joanne Turka who taught be how to be a good educator (Game Master!); Louise Jakubic and Jane Deuber who taught me how to be a successful nurse business owner; Michelle Podlesni who taught me how to think like a business woman; and Pamela Triolo who taught me how to lead. All of these nurses shared similar traits.
In this series, I share the four traits (gifts) I feel you simply must have in order to be truly successful in the nursing profession, no matter what your role.
Enjoy!
THE GIFT OF CONTINUOUS LEARNING
Continuous learning creates successful people and successful people are fascinating. What makes someone who started with nothing become a world famous celebrity, activist, philanthropist, etc. while someone else born into riches becomes a drug addict, criminal, or toxic, unhappy human? Is it luck, circumstance, or something else?
THE GIFT OF PERSEVERANCE
Perseverance is a beautiful thing. Thomas Jefferson described it best when he said:
“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.”
It’s perseverance that allows you to keep going long after others have thrown in the towel. Without it you wouldn’t be in nursing because nursing school without perseverance is like macaroni without cheese. No thanks.
THE GIFT OF COMPASSION
Compassion in nursing is so much more than being nice to patients.
Compassion is about connecting with human beings on a level deeper than just “the GI bleeder in room 14 bed 2”. When nurses extend compassion, they provide the patient a sense of security and a feeling that their condition and concerns are being heard, recognized and acted upon.
Compassion fosters a strong foundation of trust and assures them that you’re both working towards the best possible outcome for them physically, emotional, mentally, and at times, spiritually.
THE GIFT OF OPTIMISM
Humans are born either more positive or more negative – it’s genetic.
You can be born more positive, but when you enter into a negative work environment, you can easily adopt the negative attitudes and behaviors from other people because of something in our brains called mirror neurons.
Successful nurses know that you can’t embrace a long and fulfilling career in nursing without a healthy dose of optimism.
When I wrote about the many “gifts” nurses possess, the response was so great that I turned these posts into an eBook (link below). This is my gift to you.
Click here for my Gifted Nurse eBook
There you have it… Four “gifts” successful nurses possess.
I’m sure you possess at least one of them. This year, make a commitment to embrace them all and to inspire your nursing colleagues to do the same.
What other gifts do you believe nurses possess? I’d love to know below in the comment section.
Take care. Be kind. Stay connected.
2 thoughts on “2018 End of Year “Gifts” for Nurses”
I love your work! Thanks!!
Hi Rachel. You’re so nice!! Thanks for taking the time to comment. More to come in 2019!!!