Reviving The Joy in Nursing

I give fair warning…this is a feel good piece. No hard facts or science. Just an opportunity to reflect on something personal, make a commitment, and then enjoy!

It’s amazing to spend some time with nursing students! In one of my positions, I am my state’s Nurses Association consultant to the state’s Student Nurses Association board. This student led organization works to advocate for the profession of nursing, prepare nursing students for successful careers in nursing, and to foster the professional development of nursing students. These new leaders to the nursing profession amaze me every time we interact.

Recently, the Oklahoma Student Nurses Association held their annual convention where 650+ nursing students and faculty from across the state gathered to grow together. The convention boasted a day full of that started with a motivational key note speaker and then 5 concurrent breakout sessions offering 6 choices for each session. The vast differences in choices from flight nursing, to forensic nursing, to an in-depth review of neuro exams and cardiac care and options highlight the diversity in nursing.

This convention is also a great example of the diversity in nursing students. There are traditional students who recently graduated high school to those who are now choosing nursing as their second or third profession. These new nursing professionals come from every walk of life, different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, those from the city and from rural locations, and from Associate Degree programs, RN to BSN, and BSN students all learning together. The energy at the convention was electric!

What I find when I am engaged with these new leaders is I regain a little of what it was like to be new in nursing again. Now, I don’t mind not putting in the hours of study, the care plans, the endless readings and the exhaustion it seemed I lived in through those years. The ironic thing is as I discuss my nursing journey through school, these new nurses have some of the same experiences. I am still amazed how much can be done after midnight when you have a deadline looming!

I also find when I am with them that I am hopeful. There in the midst of their learning, their clinical rotations and classes, through their choices of where they want to work…hope springs eternal. It is almost impossible not to feel that joy again about the reason you became a nurse. They see the possibilities, they see the excitement, and they have a joy about the profession many of us lost a while ago. I actually felt bad for myself several times. Why have I let myself at times lose that joy?

Sometimes, it is easy enough to identify the reasons why. My challenge this time is why I let those reasons steal that joy.

When hanging around a group of new nurses, they are not jaded and they are not pessimistic about the future of nursing. I remember when I was in school the nurses on the floor and preceptors extolling the negative impacts and challenges of nursing. I didn’t listen to them then, when did I choose to start listening to them? When did I become one of them?

This past week I challenged myself to take a look at the joy I have towards my profession of nursing. Do I remember the laughter I would get when I was a student and I made mistakes or was awkward performing a new task? What about those “only can happen in nursing” experiences where your patients’ do or say something that only makes sense in the clinical setting? How about those amazing experiences of saving someone’s life, being there to welcome in a new life, or to hold the hand of one departing!

Nurses are amazing!

Nursing leaders are amazing!

We are amazing!

Why do we let our joy wane…die? Never AGAIN!

So my challenge is to stop acting like an experienced nurse and start remembering and living my nursing profession like a nursing student. The excitement every day can bring in my job. Even in the mundane office work required should be viewed from the perspective of what it can do to help our patients.

1. Prefer Wonder: Attitude determines altitude. Simple, overly stated, but true. You will have to decide daily, sometimes moment to moment, that there are amazing things happening around you, in your unit, and with your nursing. You need to prefer to look for that wonder and not towards the negative. Preferences don’t mean you always make it, but you have to be mindful to prefer to see the wonder in the things around you and not let them pass.
2. Choose Values: So many, so many around you just elect to be negative and to find the world is out to get them. Stop joining in their games. It’s time to move on from that value of mutual suffering and choose to see the positive in the situation. Not many professionals can do what you do as a nurse so stop belittling your career and start to take control and speak about the positives of being a nurse.
3. Spread Joy: To beat a defense, you need to have an overwhelming offense. Start to spread your joy all the time. We are talking about the true genuine joy you had when you started nursing school. Work to change the things you can and start boasting about the amazing work you do as a nurse. No one can take it away. And once you start the momentum moving in your direction, it becomes very unpopular to be the negative on in the crowd! Try it, it will fell fantastic!
4. Celebrate Nursing: Have a party for no other reason than you work with great people. Bring in those goodies of apples, silly string, coloring pages, cupcakes, or organize a walk after work. Nothing beats reminding yourself and others what joy it is to have the knowledge, skills, and training to do what we do as nurses. Don’t hold back, do it regularly and get everyone involved!

We do and face some difficult times in our careers. Once in a while you just need to remind yourself why you entered the honorable profession of nursing. Tell the story to a colleague. And the next time you see a nursing student, ask them about their story and listen to their reasons. You might just find yourself smiling, remembering, and feeling quite joyful about the future of nursing!

Leading with you.

Dean

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