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Nursing tips

Communicating for Change

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“All communication must lead to change”- Aristotle

In acting, we learn that words are useless. Words only become effective once humans add purpose to them. The greatest actors understand the power of each word and use that power effectively to change the person they are speaking to. The change can be a perspective of a topic or a perspective about themself. We sometimes use the same words with different meanings or inflections to mean different things. This is the beauty of language and communication.

We conducted a communication survey within our facility to evaluate our current communication methods, strategies, and opportunities. A majority of the respondents voiced that they were “not confident” or “fairly confident” about our internal communication, communication with hostile patients/ family members, and communication to different departments.

With Covid, we realized that nurses are out of practice with communicating with visitors and the routine communication with interdisciplinary staff, most of which was eliminated during Covid.

There are two main types of communication that can be evaluated here: assertive communication and aggressive communication. Assertive communication is standing up for your beliefs, voicing your concerns, and not being afraid to communicate different viewpoints. Assertive communication is essential for leaders as it does not just go with the flow, but uses words effectively to evoke a positive change. Aggressive communication is not normally effective because it downplays other views, does not accept criticism, and has the “I am always right” mentality. Rather than offering suggestion like assertive communication, aggressive communication demands a certain way.

Communication is essential for a healthy work environment and relationship with coworkers. Ensuring that all voices are heard, points are spoken clearly, and evaluating different approaches are all ways to improve current communication modalities. If people have the sense that they have a say, their motivation for change can be greatly improved.

It’s Just a Bad Shift: The Importance of Mindset

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In the past several weeks, I have transitioned into a new job, got scammed out of $1000, lost and found my “sold” wedding dress, messed up my personal website, and our house closing has gotten delayed. Reflecting on these many frustrations, I remind myself that these are so little mishaps in the grand scheme of things.

I remind myself that I am so thankful that my family is healthy, my country is not under war, Covid numbers are decreasing, I have a successful side job that I love, we are building our first new home, among so many other amazing events that life brings.

There are bad days at the hospital, but there are also bad days at home. It is normal for humans to doubt their abilities and question our life paths. It is so easy to live in life’s frustrations, rather than choosing to embrace the oxygen that we breathe at every moment.

It’s our attitudes and perspectives that determine our outlook on each situation. It is so important to magnify the good and simply experience the bad. Experiencing every emotion- the good, bad, and ugly, is part of a healthy life. The problem lies in adopting a negative viewpoint that determines all future reactions and paths for greater things.

Inpatient nursing is already a high stress environment, so why bring such negative emotions and perspectives to the work? A negative aura is felt by others around you. It truly is amazing how just thinking negative thoughts can affect an outward appearance.

We need to choose to accept healthier perspectives and view all sides of a situation. A bright person is just as recognizable as a negative Nancy.

Until next shift,

Shania

What do you want to be when you grow up?

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Growing up and even now, many ask themselves this question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?”

After witnessing mental illness in my family and then struggling with my own eating disorder, my answer became “a nurse.” I chose to be a nurse because I wanted to influence others and educate others into creating a healthy lifestyle.

But just the answer of being a “nurse”, only goes so far. I then decide whether I prefer inpatient or outpatient, which unit, which patient population, short term goals, long term goals, etc.

I, ultimately, settled into an adult medical-surgical floor that also served pediatrics and Oncology. I began nursing school wanting to do pediatrics, then ER, then inpatient oncology. There was rarely a job available at the infusion clinic, so I remained on med-surg for 5 years and I enjoyed it.

I started as a student nurse tech, then a nurse extern, then a new grad nurse, then staff nurse, then charge nurse, and now a nurse Retentionist! My medical unit offered classes on chemotherapy administration and pediatric care at no cost to me. I was able to get a wide variety of training and experiences by remaining on the medical floor for as long as I did. I also had the opportunity to switch shifts and worked days, nights, and weekend nights.

Each different experience I had and extra step I took for myself, allowed me to be open for leadership opportunities. My transition into a charge nurse was not as difficult as I thought. And the creation of my new position as a Nurse Retentionist, allowed me to step fully into the role as a nurses’ advocate and leader.

Though the actual transition away from the bedside and into a 8-4:30 job was difficult mentally, the actual work came natural. I was able to utilize my strengths of communication, boldness, and listening to incorporate challenges at the bedside into solutions to present to nursing leadership.

I never went into nursing school thinking I wanted to go into leadership, but it was something that found me and I love it. Though I am not a typical bedside nurse, I am still a nurse. Instead of caring for patients, I advocate for the nurses that continue to care for them.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Until next time,

Shania

Developing a Nursing Identity: a Unique Proposition Statement

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What creates job satisfaction? What factors encourage employees to stay in the same workplace for years? Why are humans so hesitant about change culture, but ultimately seek different opportunities?

A unique proposition statement is a fancy word for catchphrase in the voiceover industry. While building my voiceover business, having a logo and UPS are important in the development of my brand and marketing. My UPS is “the cure for the common read.” Within that phrase, I was able to combine my two passions of nursing and acting into one. It also reveals my unique qualities that I can provide for voiceovers. Having a medical background helps me see medical narration from a nursing point of view, rather than studying how to communicate large words.

I realized that identifying what makes you stand out is also important in a professional nursing career. Because no one nurse is the same and there are so many things you can do with RN at the end of your name, it is important to develop your own nursing identity to help guide a successful nursing career. Dr. Sarah Gray with Sigma International speaks highly of this and details the importance of a professional brand with a mission and vision as necessary definitions to guide each nurse’s professional journey.

It is direction, mentorship, and openness to opportunities that encourage nurses to stay in the profession and at a certain facility. The facility must encourage professional growth and provide access to resources that promote successful career advancement.

Before starting nursing school, I told myself that I wanted to work in the ER. I quickly realized that the culture was not right for me, and I worked Med-Surg as a bedside nurse for nearly 5 years. Eventually, I noticed that I did not have as much compassion as I once did, and bedside skills were seeming kind of monotonous, so I began to think about how I wanted to further my nursing career. I connected with Dr. Sarah Gray who helped me to develop my own nursing mission and vision. It was then that I was able to identify what I loved most about nursing and combined those with my strengths to decide where I want to see myself in the next few years. Ultimately, I decided that that was not as a bedside nurse. I have a passion for leadership, mentorship, and nursing education. I was able to step into (and help create) my current position at the same facility as the first Nurse Retentionist- a creative position that focuses on nursing advocacy, empowerment, and professional career planning.

Without first recognizing what my nursing identity is, I would have done more trial and error positions to figure out where I would fit in the nursing profession. Change forces us out of our comfort zones, however positive change motivates lifelong learning.

My personal mission and vision:

Mission: As a voice for medicine and nursing professionals, I will lead others to think creatively in order to foster healthy relationships, a healthy self, and a healthy work environment.

Vision: Health care professionals will engage in meaningful work and have a passionate voice in the workplace.

Until next shift,

Shania

Geriatrics can Squat, too

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Geriatric syndrome is a term that encompasses several clinical manifestations in the elderly that are not otherwise classified under a particular or singular disease or condition. These include falls, delirium, incontinence, and frailty.

The degree of muscular strength and endurance is a strong determinant of long-term overall health. It is common and unfortunate that the public often disregards these ailments and simply contribute them to old age or accept the fact that this is the way it is because one is getting older.

Did you know that 1 in 3 older adults fall at least once in a year? These falls are most often contributed to a decrease in walking speed or gait, impaired balance, or dizziness. Observe how your parents or grandparents are walking. Do they walk slowly? Is that because they are having trouble balancing themselves or are they just being cautious? How long does it take them to walk from room to room in their home? An older adult who walks slowly and has poor gait quality (hunched over, swaying to maintain balance, shuffling feet, etc) has a lower life expectancy than another older adult who walks more swiftly, upright, and who picks up their feet.

The World Report on Health and Aging has developed a tool that assesses the degree of skeletal muscle mass, which is especially important for a functional older adult. The tool assess hand-grip strength, walking speed, time up and go (how fast one can stand up and begin walking), and a short physical performance battery score (combined results of said tests).

The act of movement is critical for any body- whether it be walking, running, Yoga, cleaning, shopping, etc. Movement lowers BP, cholesterol, anxiety/depression, pain, and so much more! Add resistance training such as squatting, leg lifts, glute bridges, etc to the mix and older adults can have such a higher quality of life. The problem with Western Medicine is that our culture values the Youth, claims that a pill can cure all, and has such a large focus on tertiary medicine- treating, rather than preventing disease. With higher life expectancies, thanks to medical advances, we also need to maintain/increase the quality of life for older adults. Educating and demonstrating the 70-80 year olds to squat may just be one solution.

Until next shift,

Shania

Articles:

Click to access v10i3_2-amh-2019-07-016.pdf

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/5/2723/htm

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2409147/

Patient Talk

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“It’s easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.”- Julius Caesar

Recently, I have found myself becoming slow to anger and quick to speak. I have to consciously think about taking a deep breath or even doing yoga to help calm myself down. This lack of patience, I’ve realized, seems to be from a lack of direction. The past few months, I have spent many hours in constant study and dedication to build up my voice acting business. I have spent much less time just being still. It is in the stillness that answers can be found and peace fills the soul. My mind is in constant flight mode as I attempt to audition for any job possible, reach out to as many people as time allows, while also tending to the home and spending time with my husband. I have neglected time for myself to simply sit and reflect on the achievements I have made in these past few months.

I have goals set each day to achieve, but have re-added items such as sit on the porch and read, drink a cup of coffee and watch a favorite show, just sit and be still. Calming my mind and stilling my body are the most challenging things for me to do as I always love to be in constant motion. However, in the loud world we live in, I realize that the peace that is now missing from my life may only return if I allow my body some rest.

Patience is not always easy to give others, yet alone ourselves. We must listen to our bodies and give them what they are craving. I am not normally an annoyed person, but I have definitely been short in times I do not mean to be recently. It’s the Patient Talk with ourselves that can help refuel the soul. I choose to check that off my list today and every day for the week ahead.

Until next shift,

Shania

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