This blog is designed as an outlet to impress upon nurses the importance of stress relief to avoid burnout. In partial fulfillment of N5308 Nursing Informatics, University of Texas at Arlington.
This is such a great image and so very true! I think creating a blog about this topic is so important and can be helpful to many nurses who might be experiencing fatigue or burnout!
Suzanne, You are so right. My husband and I attended a financial seminar held by my hospital. We were to create a "bucket list". Of course this was to be used to help us prepare to have the finances to do these things in retirement. We decided then that we would start scratching these items now and not wait until retirement. What if we don't live until retirement? Another thought we had was what if we are not very mobile in retirement. We try to take at least one fantastic trip on our list each year. When we retire, we will watch TV. Here's to someday now!
Lisa, Reading your post makes me want to got to work in the morning and make it my SOMEDAY. I am ready for a vacation after completion of this course and the clinical that follows. I just mentioned to my husband "lets go somewhere in May". My daughter graduates from nursing school the same time I am graduating with my MSN. So I would say in this house we are all ready for a vacation.
Congratulations, April! You must be proud that your daughter is following in your footsteps. And since you have "been there, done that," you will have numerous opportunities, I am sure, to help her throughout her career.
I hope you have a safe and wonderful trip in May. I had high hopes of graduating in May; however, I was told I could not start practicum after this class because I still have five more weeks of Nursing Informatics to finish first. So I am delayed in graduating this May. My husband and I also have a vacation planned around the graduation dates. We decided to go ahead and keep our plans. I just will not have graduated yet. Kind of sad about that, but I know graduation is in the very near future!
Lisa, I agree with all of the above. As nurses we need to be stress free. I am constantly finding ways to inject humor into my day. Laughter is the best medicine.
Laughter is one of the greatest gifts I have found in nursing. No matter how busy or acute the ER is, we always manage to find the humor in the day. Sometimes, it's not totally appropriate, but it's funny just the same. I think that without the laughter, we all might break down and cry.
I am thankful for my patients who have humor. Sometimes their condition is so grim, yet they have such high spirits and acceptance, that they can help me through the course of their disease process instead of vice versa. Humor is important in relieving stress!
Having worked in the ER (and loved every single minute of it!), I know firsthand the humor that we subject ourselves to in the ER so we can make it through the shifts sometimes. One of my favorite "inappropriate" humorous experiences: the ER doc drank from a urine specimen cup just as the ER clerk was clocking in from her lunch break and coming around the corner. You can imagine the disgust on her face and her physical reaction! He had put Simply Apple juice in the unused, sterile cup. She hated on him for months! And of course, she got her revenge...you can imagine what it might have been! I cannot repeat it in public!
I really enjoyed this quick graphic post to remind us all to think about ourselves sometimes. All blogs can benefit from informational posts, but quick ones like this are vital as well. Good job.
Julie, I also really like her pictures. The top one is especially true for me, and maybe all of us. I have heard a lot of people say "someday I'll go back to school", we found our someday.
Thanks, Julie and Marissa. This image from thesketcheffect.com needed no further explanation for nurses! I actually came across that while searching images for something else in particular, but my search ended when I saw that image. It is so very true for me too.
Lisa, I think that you discuss a very important topic in your blog. There have been a few times that I called out sick when in reality it was to keep my sanity. After calling out sick I wasn't even able to enjoy my time off because I felt guilty about what I had done and causing a potential hardship for my coworkers. I think that we need to give ourselves a break so that we can go back to work rejuvenated and refreshed. Great topic!
I, too, have done that very same thing. While we think that sometimes only our bodies get physically sick, sometimes our mind and spirit does too. But we do not allow ourselves to validate the reality because we cannot pinpoint it..."I have fever because I just took my temperature and it read 101.8," or "I have an upset stomach and cannot stay out of the bathroom." Our excuses like that, although very real too, make it a bit easier for us to allow ourselves a day off. (I still feel guilty about it too!) But when it comes to the stress or the burn out stage, nurses will not admit it to themselves because they cannot "prove" it to others who do not understand. Even our managers and bosses, who experience it themselves, do not give credibility sometimes to "I really do need a day off to blow off steam!" But in order to take care of others, we have to pay attention to our body, mind and spirit.
Thanks, again, Marissa. Good luck with the rest of school.
This picture really hits home for me. That is exactly what I say. I'm always going to do something when I get a new job, finish school, get a new home, buy a new car, etc. I really need to remind myself that I'm living in the present, not some future day that isn't even promised to me. That one thing made this blog a great part of my day. Thank you for the reminder. Maybe you can follow me around and kick me in the backside.
Hey, Bryan! Thanks for the feedback. You talk like a seasoned ER nurse! We see it first hand, sometimes too often, in the ER. Fatal accidents, debilitating injuries, etc., etc.; and probably every single devastating and unfortunate outcome that we see we most likely every time tell ourselves "I am getting that power of attorney...I am getting my will made up...I am going to sign up for organ donor...," but we probably still have not done it...I have not. We really do need to embrace the sketcheffect.com image and make it today!
Lisa, What a great idea for a place to visit, and relax. With 18 years RN experience, I try to avoid burn-out by taking my vacations when they come up. I appreciate all of us who give 150% of themselves on a daily basis, but nurses need to find the time to pamper themselves as well. Great Job.
Posts
This is such a great image and so very true! I think creating a blog about this topic is so important and can be helpful to many nurses who might be experiencing fatigue or burnout!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarah. Thesketcheffect.com did a fantastic job with this image! I appreciate that I was able to use it for this blog.
DeleteLisa
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Its so true, someday's come and go and soon your life is half gone and you run out of somedays! Do those somedays today!
Sue Matson
Suzanne,
DeleteYou are so right. My husband and I attended a financial seminar held by my hospital. We were to create a "bucket list". Of course this was to be used to help us prepare to have the finances to do these things in retirement. We decided then that we would start scratching these items now and not wait until retirement. What if we don't live until retirement? Another thought we had was what if we are not very mobile in retirement. We try to take at least one fantastic trip on our list each year. When we retire, we will watch TV. Here's to someday now!
You are so right, Suzanne. And we as nurses, know firsthand that some of our patients never have tomorrow but we still get caught in our own rut.
DeleteLisa
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteReading your post makes me want to got to work in the morning and make it my SOMEDAY. I am ready for a vacation after completion of this course and the clinical that follows. I just mentioned to my husband "lets go somewhere in May". My daughter graduates from nursing school the same time I am graduating with my MSN. So I would say in this house we are all ready for a vacation.
Congratulations, April! You must be proud that your daughter is following in your footsteps. And since you have "been there, done that," you will have numerous opportunities, I am sure, to help her throughout her career.
DeleteI hope you have a safe and wonderful trip in May. I had high hopes of graduating in May; however, I was told I could not start practicum after this class because I still have five more weeks of Nursing Informatics to finish first. So I am delayed in graduating this May. My husband and I also have a vacation planned around the graduation dates. We decided to go ahead and keep our plans. I just will not have graduated yet. Kind of sad about that, but I know graduation is in the very near future!
Thanks again, April; and congratulations!
Lisa
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the above. As nurses we need to be stress free. I am constantly finding ways to inject humor into my day. Laughter is the best medicine.
Laughter is one of the greatest gifts I have found in nursing. No matter how busy or acute the ER is, we always manage to find the humor in the day. Sometimes, it's not totally appropriate, but it's funny just the same. I think that without the laughter, we all might break down and cry.
DeleteI am thankful for my patients who have humor. Sometimes their condition is so grim, yet they have such high spirits and acceptance, that they can help me through the course of their disease process instead of vice versa. Humor is important in relieving stress!
DeleteLisa
Bryan,
DeleteHaving worked in the ER (and loved every single minute of it!), I know firsthand the humor that we subject ourselves to in the ER so we can make it through the shifts sometimes. One of my favorite "inappropriate" humorous experiences: the ER doc drank from a urine specimen cup just as the ER clerk was clocking in from her lunch break and coming around the corner. You can imagine the disgust on her face and her physical reaction! He had put Simply Apple juice in the unused, sterile cup. She hated on him for months! And of course, she got her revenge...you can imagine what it might have been! I cannot repeat it in public!
Good luck, Bryan!
Lisa
I really enjoyed this quick graphic post to remind us all to think about ourselves sometimes. All blogs can benefit from informational posts, but quick ones like this are vital as well. Good job.
ReplyDeleteJulie, I also really like her pictures. The top one is especially true for me, and maybe all of us. I have heard a lot of people say "someday I'll go back to school", we found our someday.
DeleteThanks, Julie and Marissa. This image from thesketcheffect.com needed no further explanation for nurses! I actually came across that while searching images for something else in particular, but my search ended when I saw that image. It is so very true for me too.
DeleteThanks, Ladies, for your feedback.
Lisa
Lisa, I think that you discuss a very important topic in your blog. There have been a few times that I called out sick when in reality it was to keep my sanity. After calling out sick I wasn't even able to enjoy my time off because I felt guilty about what I had done and causing a potential hardship for my coworkers. I think that we need to give ourselves a break so that we can go back to work rejuvenated and refreshed. Great topic!
ReplyDeleteMarissa,
DeleteI, too, have done that very same thing. While we think that sometimes only our bodies get physically sick, sometimes our mind and spirit does too. But we do not allow ourselves to validate the reality because we cannot pinpoint it..."I have fever because I just took my temperature and it read 101.8," or "I have an upset stomach and cannot stay out of the bathroom." Our excuses like that, although very real too, make it a bit easier for us to allow ourselves a day off. (I still feel guilty about it too!) But when it comes to the stress or the burn out stage, nurses will not admit it to themselves because they cannot "prove" it to others who do not understand. Even our managers and bosses, who experience it themselves, do not give credibility sometimes to "I really do need a day off to blow off steam!" But in order to take care of others, we have to pay attention to our body, mind and spirit.
Thanks, again, Marissa. Good luck with the rest of school.
Lisa
This picture really hits home for me. That is exactly what I say. I'm always going to do something when I get a new job, finish school, get a new home, buy a new car, etc. I really need to remind myself that I'm living in the present, not some future day that isn't even promised to me. That one thing made this blog a great part of my day. Thank you for the reminder. Maybe you can follow me around and kick me in the backside.
ReplyDeleteHey, Bryan! Thanks for the feedback. You talk like a seasoned ER nurse! We see it first hand, sometimes too often, in the ER. Fatal accidents, debilitating injuries, etc., etc.; and probably every single devastating and unfortunate outcome that we see we most likely every time tell ourselves "I am getting that power of attorney...I am getting my will made up...I am going to sign up for organ donor...," but we probably still have not done it...I have not. We really do need to embrace the sketcheffect.com image and make it today!
DeleteThanks, Bryan!
Lisa
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea for a place to visit, and relax. With 18 years RN experience, I try to avoid burn-out by taking my vacations when they come up. I appreciate all of us who give 150% of themselves on a daily basis, but nurses need to find the time to pamper themselves as well. Great Job.