In light of nurse's week I was reflecting on being a nurse. I came home last night to my husband and a friend who asked me how my day was, to which I dove into general events that included: multiple critical patients, never ending ambulances, traumas decompensating at the same time, one patient who needed an immediate work up at the same time two conscious sedation procedures needed to be performed, while in another room a specialist yelled about supplies not being ready for the fourth procedure. This was soon followed by a patient in active cardiac arrest, multiple discharges and three ambulances to fill the beds immediately upon patient departure. Seven pm could not come soon enough!
They looked at me with eyes wide, laughed, and my husband said, "This is why I work with rocks" (He's a geologist). While the events of the day were fast-paced, overwhelming at times, and with very high acuity, I wouldn't have it any other way. I smiled and reveled in the thought that I absolutely love my job. I love that I get to be apart of this chaos and love that I get to partake in the care of the sick and bring a spirit of hope and comfort to those who come through the doors.
Let's face it, as nurses in the ER we thrive on the adrenaline, the high acuity, and a world of fast thinking and chaos. If an alert is paged out for emergent help in a room, you have not one, but every nurse on staff rushing to jump in and help. It's just who we are.
I recently heard a ted talk about stress and how society's problem is not how much stress we have in our lives, rather how we perceive the stress. The speaker's opinion, based on research, was that if we view stressful times positively, it positively impacts our body as opposed to wearing it down. Signs of stress such as elevated heart rate, maybe some sweating, anxiety, etc. should be seen as preparing us to take on a challenge, not wearing us down and leading to a sense of dread about what lies ahead.
I think as an ER nurse this is one of the keys to not burning out. I could see what lies ahead of me as completely overwhelming and stressful, or I can perceive this "stress" as a challenge to overcome. What is my priority this moment? How can I delegate? Is anyone going to crash if I am not there in the next five minutes? Who is dying?
Extreme? Maybe, but this is often an ER nurse's reality. You might be monitoring a post-TPA stroke patient in one room, trauma in another, and sepsis down the hall...in addition to the intoxicated patient who in the meantime decided to pick a fight with their neighbor across the hall and now needs to be restrained. Sometimes you have to take a deep breath, laugh, and acknowledge that it's crazy. Not everything can be done this second, but I mentally prepare myself to take on what lies ahead and get it done one thing at a time. "This is stressful" becomes "This is what I love to do. I love emergency care and I get to work hard and fast to make this happen". Get this mentality in your teammates and an overwhelming day becomes a true team sport.
Don't get me wrong, some days are hard, and when I'm tired and hangry it's hard to keep life in perspective. But work is most fun when I remember that I love it. I remember that timing is never perfect and neither am I. I am one person, and if I give 100% of what I have, then I can clock out every day, go home, and laugh about a crazy day. Here's to all the nurses out there, but especially my ER nurses who help me keep perspective and still love my job after those draining days.
Nursing
Is it hard? Yes
Exhausting? Absolutely
Draining? Typically
Worth it? Every day
Rewarding? No doubt
Profession? Yes, but I'd call it a vocation because when you love what you do you never work a day in your life.
No comments:
Post a Comment