The Nurse, the Martyr, and the Oxygen Mask

Over the years, I’ve known a plethora nurses. I’ve known new nurses, seasoned nurses, frightened nurses, burned-out nurses, and nurses who were so jaded they couldn’t even see their patients if they were right in front of their noses. I’ve known nurses who clocked out at the end of their shift and never looked back, and I’ve known others who consistently clocked out two hours late and then were up all night hoping their patients were OK. It takes all kinds, and some suffer unnecessarily more than others. 

When The Nurse Is Stretched Too Thin

In all likelihood, we can all readily agree that nursing is not for the faint of heart. Nurses in many different settings can be pushed to the breaking point, driven to the precipice of burnout, compassion fatigue, and utter defeat. But there is indeed another way.

Nurse Bullying: We Shall Overcome

On May 20th, 2013 on RN.FM Radio, we discussed nurse to nurse bullying with Renee Thompson, a national expert on the subject. In the course of that discussion, we heard that bullying among nurses continues to be a problem nationwide--and most likely worldwide, as well. What will it take to turn the tide on what appears to be a widely acknowledged form of aberrant workplace behavior within the healthcare industry?

The Nurse's Personal Dashboard: Tune Up Time?

I recently posted here on Digital Doorway about each of us having our own personal dashboard. While that post made metaphoric mention of the speedometer, tachometer, fuel and lubrication, we didn't talk about the need for a timely tune up. So, let's take that metaphor and run with it, shall we?

Book Review: "Do No Harm Applies To Nurses Too!"

Renee Thompson, MSN, RN, CMSRN, is a widely recognized national specialist on horizontal violence (also known as bullying) among nurses, and her new book, "Do No Harm Applies to Nurses Too" is a step-by-step guide to confronting this pernicious issue that impacts many aspects of 21st-century healthcare.

A Nursing Valentine

Nurses, it doesn't take teddy bear scrubs or a box of candy at the nurses station to celebrate Valentine's Day. In fact, all of the hearts and flowers in the world can't really address the lives you save, the souls you soothe, and the care you give. When it comes down to it, self-love and self appreciation are the balms that will serve you best this Valentine's Day.

The Consequences of Nurse Burnout

So, my friends, the votes are in and the verdict is clear. Nurse burnout has real consequences and a ripple effect that is far-reaching and pervasive. Now that we clearly know that the impact is real, just what will we do about it?

Work-Life Balance and You

I'm honored to be this week's featured guest blogger on the Georgetown University School of Nursing blog, and I'd like to take this opportunity to share the link to the post as well as some excerpts from the post itself. The subject is work-life balance for nurses, and many of you may relate to this common challenge faced by nurses and healthcare professionals.

Of Tragedy, Heroism and Recovery

In the wake of the recent mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado, our hearts indeed go out to the victims, their families and loved ones, and the many people impacted by this horrific and inexplicably nefarious event. When senseless terror such as this is visited on innocent citizens, it is a shocking reminder of the ways in which violence can tear open the heart of a community—and a nation—in a matter of moments. 

Nurse Self Care: The Secret Ingredient

In my coaching practice, I talk to so many nurses who seem to burn out and hate their work when they don't put their own needs first. Nurses appear to have an ingrained sense that they must subjugate their own needs to the needs of their patients and loved ones. This is a belief and a practice that must change in order to prevent burnout and increase work-life balance and satisfaction.

Nurses' Occupational Health

This week, Laura Wenger of Practice Greenhealth and The Healthier Hospitals Initiative stated on RN.FM Radio that nurses have the highest rate of occupational asthma in the United States. I was taken aback by this simple statement, and have been thinking about this statistic ever since.

What Do Nurses Glean From Coaching?

When I work with nurses via my coaching practice at NurseKeith.com, there are a variety of life aspects upon which we can focus. Whether it's addressing work-life balance or managing a change in the trajectory of their careers, nurses come to coaching for many reasons, but the goal is always centered on what the client truly wants.

"Googling" Our Workplaces?

It seems to be common knowledge these days that employees at places like Google, Apple and other Silicon Valley success stories enjoy perks that many of us in the healthcare industry can only dream of. Even other companies---like biotechs and others---have learned that small perks can go a long way toward employee well-being and morale. Why don't we healthcare workers---who save lives every day---enjoy even a fraction of these sorts of benefits?

Self Compassion and Empathy

Last night on RN.FM Radio, nurse and well-known author Carol Gino spoke eloquently about the need for nurses to develop self compassion before they can truly experience empathy for their patients. She was so right.

Nursing Students and Self Care

Nursing school is a lot like boot camp. The student nurse is pushed to his or her limits, personal resolve is continually tested, students bond in their misery, and the majority come through the other side with new skills and a new career, perhaps a little worse for wear. But are they fully prepared---to care for themselves?

Nurses, Caring, and Oxygen Masks

Nurses are generally very good at caring for others, and many of us fall flat on our faces when it comes to caring for ourselves. So, aren't we going against the popular wisdom of the "oxygen mask theory" when we give and give without meeting our own needs?

The Disneyfication of Nursing?

A recent article on Boston.com describes efforts by hospitals to offer specialized training to nurses in customer service and courtesy. According to some reports, many hospitals are hiring outside consultants in order to boost customer satisfaction surveys in response to Medicare's new ruling that they will begin basing a small percentage of payments to hospitals in accordance with facilities' "patient experience" scores.

Nursing and Transformation in the New Year

As the dawn of 2012 beckons, I hold a new vision for the nursing profession.

Along with the rest of large segments of humanity, nurses are waking up. Nurses are realizing that the old paradigms no longer apply, and that the vestiges of Old World thinking (when it comes to nursing and medicine) are dying as we speak. Health care must be transformed, and since nurses are the largest segment of the American health care industry (and perhaps in the world), we nurses could indeed "occupy" health care in a way that could potentially turn the entire industry on its head. The political will of nurses will be tested, and I am encouraged by the rumblings that I hear as I put my ear to the virtual tracks.

Contrary to popular images propagated by the media (in Hollywood, television, the news, and other sources), nurses are not handmaidens to doctors, sex kittens in white uniforms, or background characters who simply serve as foils to George Clooney and other TV doctors. (Although we may notice on close inspection that only actors who play doctors on shows such as "ER" ever seem to move into the limelight.)  Nurses are more than this, whether the media wish to portray us realistically or not.

As usual, nurses have ranked as the most trusted professionals in the United States yet again in the most recent Gallup poll. This is the 12th time out of 13 years that nurses have earned this honor from the American people. The only occasion when nurses were not the number one most trusted professionals was in 2001 when firefighters earned that top spot following their heroic efforts in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks.

From my own perspective, one way for nurses to be more effective is to be more vigilant in their own self care. That's why I have decided to offer my own coaching services for nurses to assist them in living the healthiest and most satisfying lives possible. Nurses can impact the health care industry when they are healthy and balanced. Thus, preventing burnout and adopting a healthy lifestyle can have a far reaching impact on patients, fellow nurses, other colleagues, and beyond.

I am proud to be a nurse, and I can see that the nursing industry is still in it infancy when it comes to embracing change, championing that change, and subverting the dominant paradigms that keep nurses and nursing care relegated to the past rather than focused on the future. Still, I'm hopeful, optimistic and looking forward to the ways in which nursing---and the world at large---will transform in 2012. These are momentous times, and we have only seen the tip of the iceberg as Americans---and people all over the world---wake up to the many disparities that are crying out for transformation. Nurses can lead the way in health care, and I hope to be part of the actions and conversations that bring that transformation into being.

Why Coaching For Nurses?

When I speak with people about my newly launching coaching practice for nurses (which will shortly be live at NurseKeithCoaching.com and NurseKeith.com), they often ask why nurses might need coaching. There are many reasons that nurses can benefit from coaching, and when you take into consideration the fact that nurses are responsible for the care of millions of people worldwide, it makes sense that nurses should be healthy, balanced and happy at home and at work so that they can perform at their best.

As nurses, we spend a great deal of time caring for others and precious little time caring for ourselves. Our work can be all consuming, and in that process we can easily lose touch with our own health, happiness, and sense of balance.

Coaching with me is meant to be all about you. It’s about rediscovering the things that you love about your work. It’s about reconnecting with what’s underneath your desire to be a nurse. It’s also about finding balance in your life, and making your own health, happiness, relationships and life satisfaction the focus.

Nurses are caregivers, but we can only provide the best care when we're also taking care of ourselves properly. Exercise, nutrition, weight loss, stress management, leisure and fun, work-life balance, spirituality, relationships---all of these aspects of our lives impact our ability to be at our best when we engage in our work. And when our lives are out of balance, we suffer on multiple levels. 

My intention is to provide coaching that lifts nurses' spirits, assists them in identifying their goals, their strengths and their areas of challenge, and creating a life that more clearly resonates with their spirit and their vision of the best possible life. 

If nurses are the backbone of the health care industry, then that backbone needs the support to be the strongest and healthiest it can be. Nursing should be something you do, not just something that does you in!