Practice What You Preach

When you teach something it helps reinforce it in your brain. I tell my students this all the time:

Dictate your care to process what you're doing.
Talk about medications and side effects as you give them to educate your patient and help reinforce medication knowledge for yourself.
Sit down and discuss a patient's diagnosis with them. Print off guides and learn together about how they can better understand concepts and take control of their own care.

If you've never tried it, try it! I find when I study something and break it down to teach, I know the concepts 50% better than before, and I tend to retain that information.

Practice what you preach.

In educating about nursing practice and how to be a nurse I like to help students look beyond the diagnosis and at the whole person. Not the patient, but the person. This involves what my Jesuit schooling would define as cura personalis, or, care for the whole person: mind body and soul.

I was reflecting this week on how much I enforce quality time and connection with patients- Really getting to know them and understand something about who they are and where they come from. 5 minutes sitting and listening is all it takes. In addition, ask the patient what one thing you could realistically accomplish to make their day better and so they feel their needs were met. Integrating this in to a plan of care can be difficult with a large patient load, but intentionality and true care and compassion are recognized by a patient.

I love to see this put into action and was amazed by the kindness and creative ways each student helped their patients feel acknowledged and cared for. It's the little things. It's prune juice with butter, it's lotion to the feet, a shower, teeth brushed, a visit from the therapy dog, a warm dry shampoo cap...
What's beautiful, in addition to seeing and hearing appreciation and joy from these patients, is hearing how their joy invigorates these students and encourages them to make intentional care a core part of their practice. They acknowledge nursing is not tasks to be completed, but entering in to a person's health  journey and inspiring their healing through individualized care.

After days of enforcing intentional time and self care I found myself tired and working on my normal shift in the ER.

It's the little things...my lesson came ringing through my ears. This is something I strive to incorporate always in my practice, but I made it a goal to practice this more intentionally this day. I made it a goal to pay close attention to the little things. A chocolate chip cookie for the sweet patient waiting for a ride, warm blankets and water for family members. Extra timely and thorough updates while talking to patients. Finding one thing in common with them to recognize their humanity- (person, not just patient). These little things felt good, but even more they made the patients and their families extra responsive and grateful, which in turn made my day enjoyable with smiles all around. It reminded me why I love what I do.

Even the little things need reminders from day to day or they get lost in the hustle and bustle.

Practicing is an art and skills are lost when they are not practiced. As an educator I strive to continually learn so as to be a better resource to my students, but it is often the students themselves who teach me in addition to reminding me why I do what I do.