I got some really great feedback from an email newsletter subscriber (Thank you, Julie!).  I love getting emails that ask questions and share reflective comments; it always provides great content for my writing, speaking and creative flow.

Here’s some of what my nursing colleague shared with me:

“Nursing is never the same. No two shifts, no two patients, will ever look identical. While that variety is often a satisfier in nursing, it can also be a drawback. No situation will ever  be exactly the same as another. It’s hard to pinpoint the root of nursing problems because no matter how satisfied you are with your job, no matter how much you love it, there’s always going to be stress. You’re going to be in a high stress environment. It’s unavoidable in our profession. No matter what, at some point in time, you may find yourself stressed out as a nurse. “

I couldn’t agree more! (Self Check-In: What about you? What do you think?)

This is where the birth of #nursingfromwithin came from in the first place. The creation of my business brand. My final destination of my ‘signature work’ (that my coach keeps encouraging me to come up with). This is it.

I had a totally cool day yesterday. I was interviewed for Lorie Brown’s Empowered Nurses event (coming early March). My topic title was: Nursing from Within: Empower Your Inner Self to Enjoy Your External Environments. It was exceptional and more fun than I could have ever imagined! (details coming soon)

And you know what? What came out during our conversation was totally in line with what my newsletter subscriber shared with us above.

Nursing is tough work. It’s hard. It can challenge you. One day is never the same as the next. As my colleagues joke about the things we see, ‘You can’t make this stuff up‘.

You can go to nursing school, study your face off, and make straight A’s. What you experience in ‘real life’ nursing in even one shift will teach you more than any education you’ve ever paid for.

Now that we agree that nursing is challenging and filled with ever-changing variety, we can move forward.

Having that awareness is key.

Nursing is filled with variety and stress. Yet knowing that, working with that knowledge, is power. When you realize that it is going to be stressful you can consciously DO something about it.

What I encourage: take care of your stress levels before you get into nursing. This is why preventative care is at the core of being a nurse. You can’t be a nurse without taking care of yourself first. This is why handling stress, coping with stress, dealing with stress- whatever you want to call it- is completely necessary.

You can’t thrive as a busy nurse without a coping mechanism.

The stressful environment that is nursing is not going away.

Instead of fighting against the stress, thus creating more angst for yourself, flow with the stress. Live and work proactively instead of reacting to stress. Don’t let the stress get to you. Go with the flow.

Today’s meditation mantra that really touched me and sums it all up:

I choose to release expectations, the dramas, and need to control in my life.

Stress. How do you flow with it? Where do you fight against it? What do you think of the comments shared from my nurse friend above and how can you allow yourself more coping skills to enjoy proactively allowing yourself to flow with and through the stresses of life?