Thanks so much, and I again hope I am not intruding as I am not a nurse. Thanks again

Deb

Through my trip to Africa, I was reminded how important participating in service projects is to your career. Whenever you give to others, you return to your profession a different person. I learned valuable lessons, like depending on other nurses–something we sometimes lose sight of in our day-to-day jobs.
It was like we jumped out of a plane as strangers, popped our parachutes, and clung to somebody. Suddenly, that somebody becomes your family over the next two weeks, because you’re in a strange place where you have to be vulnerable and trust one another.

I also learned that I often take for granted the knowledge and supplies we have access to in the United States to provide exceptional care. In Africa, they just make do.

Even if you don’t ever make it overseas to someplace like Africa, I’d say that if you’re going to make nursing your career, you need to give back to your community in a service capacity. In fact, many hospitals and health care centers have clinical ladders through which nurses can acquire higher level of stature and pay if they become involved in community service.  If you don’t have community service under your belt, it’s difficult to climb that ladder. They’ll send you back, and say, “Get involved and come back next year.”

You can begin finding places to plug in by looking in the local newspaper and on the Internet for community service nursing opportunities. Often nursing journals have updates and ads, too. A number of nurses with whom I worked found out about the trip through a journal where an ad was published.

Some nurses go to their home churches and ask to implement wellness programs. Play on your strengths. If you’re a labor and delivery nurse, for instance, you can offer your phone number through your church as a resource for pregnant women. Or if your focus is geriatrics, you can be a point person for the aging population.

But don’t make a service project so big that you’ll never embark on the journey. Keep it simple. And remember there are opportunities right outside your door. Start by offering a half of your day once a month at a shelter or a public health center, for instance. Or ask to organize a health awareness project in your child’s classroom. Work with other nurses to sponsor a one-day health event. Think out of the box.

A side benefit of being out in your community is that you raise public awareness about how important nursing is to our society.  So, don’t be afraid…go serve!

Justin

Carli

I am a nursing student with no hospital work experience (just clinicals) who just got a job as a nurse tech in a local hospital. I had heard that nurse techs make around $11/hr so I was surprised when they offered me $9.22/hr! It is for days (weekend and night differential is available)

I was just wondering what others make/made as a nurse tech? I live in a city and this is a large hospital.

Thanks!
JoEllen

Sometimes it’s the little things that can really help to turn things around. While there are many things that may be outside of your control, sometimes all it takes is one person choosing to focus on creating positive change to really get the momentum going

A few ideas on how to boost morale:
1.    Start a Newsletter: Organize a unit-based newsletter to recognize your peers. Maybe start with one person on each shift and highlight something unique about them that really makes them shine. Recognize a staff member who has contributed in some way to the community. Focus on a great team player – even someone from another department to show how their role is crucial to the care of your patients. Tell about a nurse who went above and beyond to make a family member feel welcome during a difficult time. Share a great experience one of the new grads had during orientation. Tell about a peer who spoke up to ensure their patient had the best possible care, or who prevented a potential error. There are always positive stories out there – it just takes some initiative and time to find and bring it to others attention. Highlight a different person each issue so everyone has something to look forward to and even strive for!
2.    Staff Recognition Board: Post quick notes of appreciation for your peers on a board for all to see. Post articles or pictures of staff who were recently recognized in the media. Jot quick thank–you notes for a PCT or Unit Clerk who really helped you out on a crazy day. Talk with your manager – maybe you could post the board where families could also leave notes or appreciate the recognition board. They could contribute to it or just feel a sense of comfort knowing one of the great nurses honored on that board is taking care of their loved one.
3.    Show Your Appreciation: Send a quick email or write a note of thanks to someone who has gone the extra mile to help you or another RN in a tough situation. There are plenty of days when we all feel too busy to even survive much less help someone else out, so be sure to show your appreciation when someone does help you out! Telling them thank you is one thing, but having it in writing means so much more. They can always look back at it for encouragement when having a bad day, or when they personally need a reminder of how much their efforts mean to others. Often in our “busyness” we forget to thank those who have helped make our day just a little more tolerable.
4.    Think Outside the Box: Get creative. Come up with your own ideas of how to boost morale. Maybe you’re good at making others laugh – so keep it light-hearted at work. Nominate a friend for best “code-brown” survivor. Post a funny doctor’s order or note on the bathroom door (no patient names of course). Organize a unit-outing or movie night. Celebrate with a pot-luck meal. Bring in make-your-own-sundaes toppings. It’s truly the little things that start to add up and slowly change an atmosphere from one of negativity to a more positive environment - where everyone wants to be and can enjoy the challenges of giving our all to care for those who need us most.

One month at the PICU, I’m so tired. It’s been the kind of month that keeps you up all night. If you finally get to sleep, you wake up from a disturbing dream.

You smile and joke the whole day at work, but subconsciously you’re bleeding from the gut. And there are no sutures to keep the wound closed. Really, there is no time for that. There is no time to wallow in pain and grief for the patient you just lost–because another sick kid is being wheeled in from the ER.

You gulp back the lump in your throat and blink away the tears. The heart has to stay intact. If it doesn’t, everything else will fall apart.

Sometimes I wish I could just not show up at work. But I know I can’t, and I won’t. They need someone to be there for them. Someone to wipe away the crusted blood from their young skin; someone to remove the tubes from their mouth; someone to wrap them up; someone to help their parents through the whole process of death because they are too emotionally shaken to do it by themselves.

They need someone who cares, even if it hurts. Showing up and being there—it’s the least we can do.

Do I just \”suck it up\” and try to make the best of it, or should I try to talk to my manager and see if she would allow me to do my preceptorship on PMs, the shift I was hired for? I don\’t want to burn bridges or cause any problems.

Thanks!

Janet

Here’s the thing about seasons. They come and they go. That’s important to remember. Especially the going part. Some feel like the new birth of Spring, and some feel like the death of Winter. Either way, you have to remember to enjoy the good, and keep hoping through the bad. Both will turn into a new season in time.

If you’re a student, it may feel like the studying will never end. If you’re a new grad, it may feel like you’ll never get the hang of this new career. If you’ve been working for 30 years, it may feel like retirement will never come. Stop waiting. Enjoy what you’ve got. It will be gone before you know it.

As I remember it, college was the most fun of all the difficult things I’ve done. Lots of friends, lots of entertainment, lots of ….

Those first hospital jobs scared the crap out of me, but I had more free time and spending money than I’ve ever had since.

Now I’m 20 some years into a Family Practice career. I can do it with my eyes closed, but every time I go to work, something good happens. A great conversation with a patient or colleague, holding a baby, chatting with an old man who doesn’t have anyone to listen to him. I leave loving my job everyday. Mostly.

When my first child was born, I was ecstatic but exhausted. I never slept. I thought he would spontaneously combust if I let him cry. He was also a terrible nurser, so he didn’t gain weight. That only added to the stress.

When he was about two weeks old, a friend said, “Don’t worry, he’ll turn a corner when he’s six weeks, and it will get much easier.” She thought that would encourage me. Instead it made me cry. I was SURE I would not live to see six weeks.

Twelve and a half years out, I can tell you I did survive. I even occasionally tell new moms that their little screamer will turn the corner at six weeks. But I always add how that statement made me feel.

What season of nursing are you in? What do you love about it? What do you not love about it? What advice are you giving about the last season you were in? That’s the other thing about seasons. There is always someone else in the last one and the next one.