Nurse friends, ask yourself
how many times have you quit in your head as a nurse, before you actually did it ?
I have quit a number of times in my head, cried about it a few time driving home, a few times out loud, and then eventually after my tolerance level ran over into more toxic levels I put in my notice. I talk more about it here
Where is the place that you run to and pull yourself back together ? Is it the break room ? Bathroom ? or was it the supply closet ? I asked a few of my Nurse friends, and everyone had a supply closet moment. Or you may have spent way longer than you needed to in the bathroom, because that was the one place you could truly be alone. Well Nurse friends I have definitely been there too.
Mindset is the only thing on our shift that we actually have control over. Although we try our hardest we cannot fully control our patient outcomes, policy changes, and what's plaguing us the most right now is this raging pandemic. This lack of control is the most frustrating and leads to bad shifts, which lead to toxic work environments, which eventually lead to BURN OUT!
So I have 3 mindset hacks that I use to get focused and to prevent burn out. This is not a one and done hack, but I revisit these sometimes daily. I write them out in my journal, I stick it on my wall, I do all the things to help me continue to enjoy my profession and not quit Nursing.
So, lets get right into these Mindset hacks to ensure that our mindset is clear, unwavering, and pandemic proof. Catch the full webinar for free here https://www.perspective33.com/webinar
Mindset Hack #1: Recall
Take a moment to recall a time when working as a nurse, when you experienced a huge win. The goal of this hack is to remind yourself that you know hard times, and you have gotten through them before. You need to pump yourself up for a minute, feel yourself for a second, and remind yourself who the heck you are ! Now don't stay up there too long, but enjoy the moment.
For this hack I often use Nursing school to get us thinking on the same page. Life after nursing school may look different for some of us, but Nursing school is a common denominator that we can all pull from.
So here I identified 3 key take aways that I learned from Nursing school.
Critical Thinking: Nursing School taught us how to think like a NURSE - periodt. Nursing school taught us how to assess a situation carefully. It help us to discern the clearest path in caring for our patients, and keeping them safe. I tell all my friends that I need to get them a "What Would a Nurse do" bracelet.
Perseverance: I shared in the webinar that nursing school was tough, and whoever tells you otherwise is a liar. Actually it is said that nursing tops the list of the hardest undergraduate degrees. We all would joke about the Nursing test, that all the answers appear to be right but you have to know how to pick the one that is the most right. So Nursing school taught me how to be challenged and keep moving forward. The truth is I have 2 degrees prior to Nursing and I did not receive subpar grades until I got to Nursing school. Then I stopped looking at the scores and just wanted to pass, next I just wanted to understand the theory/physiology. Now as a professional Nurse I am grateful I made it, I preserved, and I am a much better Nurse because of it.
"I can do hard things": This is an affirmation that I still live by today. This for me has still particularly become a mantra during the pandemic, everyday was and still is an insurmountable task. I have written it out and placed it on my office wall. I have it in plain sight on a post it so that I can remember what I'm made of.
Mindset Hack #2: Review
In this mindset hack you will need to take a self inventory of yourself. This is the one time that you can be your own worst critic. As a Nurse manager I complete an inventory just about every week. I pay close attention to those things that are low in stock in, identify any patterns or cycles, and project my future needs.
Something like this...
Low in stock: I am low in energy.
Identify patterns: I have been low in energy a lot lately. I have been picking up more shifts and have less days off to recover. I have been averaging about 5 shift pick ups per 6 weeks
Project Future needs: I want to get more rest, I think I will dial back on the number of pick ups to 2 shifts per 6 weeks.
Better yet in this mindset hack you should write your self inventory down, and hold yourself accountable to it. This down the road you may find this hack to be a form of self care.
Mindet Hack #3: Re Up
Here is actually my favorite mindset hack. It's when you ask yourself what do you need? . Once you have identified this FILL 'ER UP.
We talk in the webinar https://www.perspective33.com/webinar about knowing your mileage - How many miles have you been putting in ? By this I mean... How many shifts have you picked up ? How long have you had your foot on the gas ?
Next you need to identify when your next gas station is coming up, how many miles out are you ? It's kind of like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and knowing the end is in sight. I also shared a personal story about how I am the type that will literally drive my car until the light comes on (here's a clip https://www.instagram.com/tv/CIQ_PNgBUDa/ ) - I am so guilty of this ! Yes I am also the one that tells everyone "I know my car", I will not run out of gas. In real life I have never run out of gas, however in this Nurse life I have been on E more times than I want to admit. Running out of gas as a nurse is called burn out.
Lastly, you want to compare how much gas are you putting in vs burning off. So for instance when you go to fill your tank up do you fill it up to full ? just above half ? or a quarter tank ? I bring this up because this is equivalent to being extremely exhausted from work however only taking a weekend off, and expecting to be fully refreshed and ready to go. You will in turn get to back to E a lot quicker, because you did not FILL 'ER all the way up. So take the needed time and rest, unplug, and get your mind right.
Lets recap our 3 mindset hacks that helped me not to quit Nursing !
- Recall a past triumph. This mindset hack will remind you what you are made of, and helps to ground me to face what I'm up against.
- Take inventory and review where you are and how exactly you got here. This is again the one time for you to be brutally honest, and take a self inventory.
- Lastly you need to Re Up ! This is by far my favorite mindset hack, because I absolutely live for my days off.
I hope these mindset hacks are helpful and remember these are not meant to be one and done. Keep these hacks on rotation. Also these Mindset hacks along with other helpful tips to keep a Positive Mindset is available here for free https://www.perspective33.com/webinar ! Go check it out.
Be All the things Nurse friends without the Nurse Burnout !
Stay Well
Nurse Megs
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