What’s Your Take?

Nursing is a beautiful profession; I continue to speak about the powerful blend between art and science. This busy time of year can bring up conflicted feelings.

• “I want to provide the best care, but I don’t have the supplies I need to do my job.”
• “I aim to keep patients safe, but adequate staffing is often a challenge.”
• “I’d like to treat my unit to a holiday party, but I can’t find the money.”
• “I love my job but I’d rather stay home and be with my family on (holiday) day.”

On the other hand, with the ending of one calendar year and the beginning of another, this time of year can spur hope, desires, change, and growth.

It’s all about perspective, how you look at things.

Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor. ~Thích Nhất Hạnh

As I wrap up 2013, I find myself following my own evolving, ever-changing path. I started out in psychiatry, moved into the community, came back to the hospital again- this time in research. I’ve studied health coaching, integrative nutrition, and Reiki. My initial business model included coaching, then group programs, and now it’s shifted to speaking and teaching. I called myself: health coach, Nurse Coach, holistic entrepreneur, and now Spiritual Practice Nurse.

Am I a failure? Have I stuck to nothing while bouncing haphazardly through everything?

I could look at it that way. Or I could approach my shifts in a very different way.

Spirituality & Growth

In Spiritual Practice: a Literature Review Relating to Spiritual Health and Health Outcomes, the author defines spirituality as the essence of a person as he or she seeks meaning and purpose in his or her life. It is a way to experience connectedness to that which is beyond the self.

Nursing does impact the physical, but it’s also about so much more.

Look at Your Own Practice

Do you complain about the ‘click & pick’ nursing of today’s techno-savvy field? Are you feeling rushed, dissatisfied by the lack of time with your patient? What about recognition, support, and fulfilment? How come it’s hard to feel positive about work these days?

I encourage you to do two things as the last days of 2013 wind down.

Your Homework

1. Take a look at your year. Follow your path. Notice your growth, changes, and improvement. Sometimes we get so caught up in the next step, the changes we’d like to make, we overlook the progress and strides that have brought us this far. You are an amazing person! An exceptional nurse! Spend some time reviewing your accomplishments of the time that’s passed.

2. Open up. It’s time to think outside-of-the-box. Creativity is upon us. The problems we face in nursing don’t seem to be going away. In fact, they may get worse before they get better. But that doesn’t mean that you are stuck. You can invite a new way. You can’t fix the problems with the same mind that created them. It’s time for a change- and you may just have to be an individual, lighting the way for your colleagues.

Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light?  ~Maurice Freehill

I’d love to hear from you! I invite you to leave a comment below. And if you enjoyed this post, by all means, please share it with another. Enjoy your self and your health today. Peace, love, and light to you, my friend. Thank you for being you today.