OK- you’ve found this blog so you’re either a nurse or a nursing student. And what’s one thing that every single nurse and/or nursing student knows? That’s right!

[Tweet “We need oxygen to survive.”]

Common sense, right? If the air doesn’t come in through our nose/mouth and into our lungs, we won’t last very long. And the end result? You got it… the end of physical life in this body.

Now that we all agree- let’s talk about a very interesting part of this oxygenation cycle that we can apply to our nursing careers and call upon for our own stress reduction and work-life balance.

Nurses aren’t that great at taking care of themselves. There I said it.

And guess what? I am right there with you- or I was. Raising my hand here too as I have been known to put my own self-care by the wayside at the expense of another (or a nursing career, or an experience, or anything for that matter). I am pretty sure that I shared the story on this very blog- when I was supposed to walk 13+ miles in an overnight suicide awareness walk. And what did I do the day of the walk? You got it- yard work, spending time with family, making meals, and not taking in enough water during the day so that I literally fell sick during the walk and couldn’t even finish it with my family!

As I was driving the other day, listening to one of my self-care tapes, I heard something very interesting on work-life balance. The spiritual teacher was talking about how good (or bad) we are at being givers and takers. Immediately I thought of our group (nurses and nursing students).

We’re exceptional at giving. We can help a co-worker out; give to our organization in how much time we spend at work; and take care of our patients and their families all day long. But what about the other side of this coin? How are we at taking (and sure, to say it in a more gentle way, we can refer to this as receiving)?

Let’s look back at our initial analogy introduced at the start of this post: oxygen exchange. We have to breath in (receive) the air in order to perform, In order to live our life, really. Then what happens next? Well, that very air that we take in is exchanged and carbon dioxide is given off. So here, the very process that sustains life and allows us to practice nursing, is a give-take relationship.

What would happen to you, your nursing career, and your life if you only did half of this process? I don’t think you’d be practicing as a nurse professional for very long, I’ll tell ya that!

So, think about this in terms of your own career and how you show up as a nurse professional. What does your self-care routine look like? How do you cope with and manage stress? Are there systems in place that allow you to enjoy a healthy relationship of work-life balance?

Just some food for thought… I’d love to hear from you! In the comments below, leave one way that you practice giving and one way you allow yourself to receive. And, if I may, if you can’t think of any way to receive in your life- check out Your Next Shift. This book will teach you some new skills, practices, and techniques that will have you thriving in your nursing career.

About the Author: As a speaker, workshop facilitator, and Reiki Master, Elizabeth partners with hospitals, organizations, associations, and nursing groups to help transform the field of nursing from the inside out. As the host of the Your Next Shift Workshop, Elizabeth guides nurses and nursing students to a change in perspective, helping them make the inner shift needed to better maneuver the sometimes challenging realities of being a caregiver.