Your Wild And Precious Nursing Career

As the New Year dawns, it's a time when many of us look backward and forward to assess many aspects of our lives, our careers not least among them. How do you feel as you say goodbye to 2013 and hello to 2014?

The poet Mary Oliver once wrote in her poem, "The Summer Day":

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?” 

Taking Oliver's poem fragment as a place to begin, I'll ask this question:

"Tell me, nurse
What is it that you plan to do
with your wild and precious nursing career?"

The New Year can bring with it a plethora of mixed emotions, including excitement, joy, trepidation, remorse, regret and expectation.

Your emotions may run high at this time of year, and the New Year may very well exacerbate most any feeling state that you experience. Having said that, the auspicious nature of the New Year is something that many of us tend to lend weight to, so why not use it as a time for self-reflection and planning for the future?

Resolutions vs. Intentions

I'm never one to make resolutions (since they're so easily broken). Instead, I set intentions, because intentions are simply the verbalization of one's desires, not a sacrosanct promise. This may seem like the splitting of hairs, but the distinction helps me to feel empowered by my goals and desires, rather than weighed down by their apparent impossibility.

Taking into consideration various aspects of your career, how would you intend to do things differently in 2014? What intentions can you set for yourself in terms of reduced stress, improved satisfaction, stronger skills or better relationships with colleagues and patients? What other areas are crying out for your attention (and intention)?

"Tell me, nurse
What is it that you plan to do
with your wild and precious nursing career?"

Seize the Day (or even the year!)

There's no time like the present to set the intention of a more satisfying career, and there's no time like the New Year to set some important wheels in motion.

• What indeed do you plan to do with your wild and precious nursing career?
• What do you want?
• Where would you like to go?
• With whom would you like to collaborate?
• How would you like to feel at work
• How would you like to feel about your career when 2014 comes to a close? 

These and other questions are crucial to ask yourself---and then answer---setting intentions to manifest these attainable desires and goals.

Wishing you a happy, healthy, prosperous and intentional New Year!