A word of encouragement

I often see many of the students on this site reading the boards of some of us veteren nurses and hearing what we have to say about the profession and becoming somewhat discouraged.

Keep a few things in mind. Nursing is a stressful profession and many of the things posted on this site are in the spirit of venting. Keep in mind that venting is often necessary and fortunatley you have already found the perfect place to come and do so.

Often there are nurses that have been mistreated by the facility or the management or the entire profession for whatever reason and have legitimate complaints and concerns. Some of these are leaving the profession, some are not but only because they feel it is too late to start over or they have nowhere else to turn.

No disrespect against these nurses but as students you will need to devise good stress relief and venting methods early on and learn to let go of things that would drag you down. Fight the battles that you feel strongly about but let little thing sort themselves out in the long run.

I feel that the best way to handle the stress and daily grind of nursing is to keep it simple. Deal with each situation as they arise, don't invite or invent trouble where there is none and always always always rely on the veterens around you. Learn to seek guidance and support from nurses that have been around. Use each nurse for their strengths learn from them whatever you can. Do not come to the game feeling you are the star and the team should just give you the ball and watch you make it happen. Watch and learn and offer to help.

The following are quotes I found on the web. Good luck to all who enter the profession and remember if it was easy everyone would do it!

To often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."

When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

Follow the three R's:

Respect for self.

Respect for others and

Responsibility for all your actions.

Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

When you realize you've made a mistake,

take immediate steps to correct it.

Spend some time alone every day.

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

Judge your success by what you had to give up

in order to get it.

"No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure."

"I never let schooling interfere with my education."

The phrase, "A Working Mother"... is redundant

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

"The only graceful way to accept an insult is to ignore it; if you can't ingore it, top it. If you can't top it, laugh at it. If you can't laugh at it, it's probably deserved."-

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."

"The important thing is not to stop questioning."

'He who learns but does not think is lost; he who thinks but does not learn is in danger.'

"Today, if you are not confused, you are just not thinking clearly."

Confidence, like art, never comes from having all the answers; it comes from being open to all the questions.

The stupid sees difficulty in every opportunity;

the intelligent sees opportunity in every difficulty.

this is a link to a sort of religious inspiration about how to tend your garden, I like it but didn't want to go religious on you guys so check it out if you want to

http://marcias-place.com/encouragement.html