Dear Nurses,
Be Honest. Have you ever said these words to yourself or to other nurses, family, anybody who would listen? Hmmm? As an advocate for nurses, I currently teach meditation, stress management, and medical yoga to nurses at my local hospital to help them with morale and wellness on the job. Shockingly, I often hear nurses say these exact words to me: "This job is killing me and I’d kill to get off the floor.” It shocked me because I too said those very words at times in my nursing career, but never out loud, and only to myself. These words are engraved in my psyche as the global lament of way too many nurses. Never mind what country, color, religion or background of the nurse, (I have worked in Canada and the USA) it is the same story and not a pretty one. Read on dear nursing sisters and brothers for there is ever hope.
Why is this job killing me? There are endless reasons why nurses are “dying” from their work and why the job is literally making them sick. Just a few examples that you can surely relate to: Insufficient staffing most of the time, overwork, impossibly long shifts, endless charting, little time for patient care, working with inexperienced nurses, burnt out nurses, slackers, disrespect, conflicts between nurses, nurses and doctors, managers, management, lawsuits and liability, being abused by patients i.e. hitting, biting, scratching, punching, yelling, poor health issues, obesity because the only reward is eating…that is, if you get the chance on any given shift, accusations of improper care, etc. etc. etc… (Your turn, fill in the blanks____. _____. _____.). Enough already, you get the idea.
Question: Why is there insufficient staffing?
Answer: Because nobody wants the job! Why? Because the truth is that nursing is one of the world’s hardest jobs.
Regarding the lament of insufficient staffing and improper care, there are multiple reasons. When I worked nights on the floor of the PCU, one or more nurses called in sick almost every shift. Naturally we were working with a skeleton crew. What else is new? Quite frankly, it's a miracle that there isn't MORE that goes wrong on any given shift. It is by the grace of GOD/ESS, spirit, angels that we nurses and our patients are carried to safety the vast majority of the time. I work with nurses who have been showing up for 12 -13 hour shifts for 25-30 years! Many are on multiple medications for blood pressure, cholesterol, depression, anxiety and--and--and--they do an excellent job! I was fortunate to work with a brilliant staff that provided excellent care, as I am sure you do as well. Yet even with this, there are some who are just plain burnt out, and show up because they have no other choice but to pay the bills. The bottom line: INSUFFICIENT STAFFING = INSUFFICIENT CARE = BURN OUT = NURSING SHORTAGE.
“IF you choose to stay in nursing, you cannot change what is, example: colleagues calling out sick; however, you can learn how... to be... with what is.”
The Solution: Every night, when I walked from the hospital staff parking lot onto the main floor and up the elevator to the floor of the PCU, I never knew what I might face on that long night shift ahead. I called on my angels to surround me and to keep my patients safe; I repeated my mantra, personal prayer as I entered the hospital "to do no harm”. It grounded me and gave me a sense of clarity and peace of mind, instead of going to pieces. By grace, it always worked. May you, in the light of wisdom, learn how to meditate, to pray with your heart, and melt away your stress in gentle, therapeutic yoga for self care and heart-felt patient care. You will learn how to be with what is. You will be, and become a source of, inspiration to all whom you work with, helping to decrease burn out and heal the wounded nursing soul.
Do enjoy a wellness retreat that will teach, inspire AND renew your life and nursing career to what it is destined to be. It is my work as a nurse/healer/educator to offer these retreats on the healing Crystal Coast of North Carolina. I encourage you to learn more about my Retreats for Nurses.
Take a two minute breathing break now, my gift to you.
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