RX for Nurses

Here you are planning to care for everyone under the sun. Curing the ill… Healing the injured… Befriending the lonely… Assisting the disabled… We applaud you for that. Few of us have the same gumption. Caring for others is a highly admirable trait, but we want to talk about you for a minute and how caring for yourself is just as important as caring for your patients. So don’t go anywhere. This website is about nursing, but this page is about “you.”

You’re Going to Have to Reduce Stress

This should go without saying, yet day after day, we read reports of stressed out nurses who burn out and quit their jobs faster than they can say, “I just wasn’t prepare for this.” We don’t want to chastise anyone, but anyone who thinks nursing is easy has to be nuts. Nursing is hard work, and for some people, staying in the field is even harder. That’s why we recommend you take the prescribed anti-stress regimen of regular breaks, plenty of exercise, and meditation. It’s a boring, repetitive regimen, but it works!

You’re Going to Have to Get Support

You don’t have to face your career alone. Working with the ill, injured, fearful, and depressed can be, well… depressing! And you’re sure to compound that feeling when you attempt to shoulder the world’s problems alone. Reach out for help. Nurses are awesome, but they’re not superwomen or supermen (although if memory serves us correct, even Superman got a little down at times). You can’t heal patients with a single bound – nor should you expect to.

When you find yourself living short of your own expectations, ask yourself whether you placing an impossible goal for yourself. Consult with other nurses to see what’s realistic and what’s a naive approach. It’s normal to worry whether you’re doing an adequate job. It’s not normal to suffer in silence.

You’re Going to Have to Let Your Body Do the Talking

Exercise does wonders for the mind. As a nursing student, you’ll discover the connection and marvel at how something as simple as exercise can refresh the mind. Take advantage of that connection and put it to good use. Sign up at a local gym and run your problems away on the track. Join an aerobics program and dance your troubles away. Even something as calm as yoga can help. Yoga teaches important breathing exercises that can bring the even most hyper-active five year old to a calm state. Try the same for yourself.

Listen. As a nurse, you’re going to have to follow that age-old advice passed down from mom to mom. You can’t take care of anyone else unless you take care of yourself first. Your patients aren’t your children, but the same principle applies. A mentally sound and physically strong nurse is an asset. Anything is a risk – not only to surrounding staff, but to patients as well.