How to stay positive as a nurse....

[alab49]

I have worked with a lot of nurses. Some are very cynical and negative and the other few are positive, uplifting, and easy to work with. We as nurses work in a very demanding field. How do we stay positive and refrain from being cynical and less compassionate towards patients after years of working in the field????

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

I agree that we as nurses have a responsibility to change jobs if we can't handle a particular one professionally. I also think we each have an obligation to have a plan B for what we will do if we cannot physically or mentally handle our current job.

I worked with a lot of 24/7 cranky nurses who felt trapped into their jobs by disabilities or circumstances. They felt that the current employer would keep them on regardless but a new employer would never hire them. They also lacked the credentialing to get a less stressful nursing job.

Then, you just never know. I worked with a "returnee", an older nurse who had been out of the profession for 25 years. She was a real pill and very hard to work with as a team. I finally pulled her aside and said "what's up?". Turns out her she was a new widow and her husband had set up his pension so that it ended when he died. This woman went from long term homemaker to nearly losing her home. She was scared to death and really hated the job. She ended up quitting and taking a walk-in clinic job for less pay. It was lower stress & she was much happier.

[Bugaloo]

Staying positive in nursing is a huge challenge. Luckily, there are so many different things we can do if we start to fell the burnout. I have worked with nurses that were like this :argue: ALL NIGHT LONG. Talk about tension. The rest of us are like this: :uhoh21:. It is enough to make you do want to do this:

Usually, when I work with a crew like this, I make myself scarce. I busy myself stocking supplies, checking on my patients, etc...I try to avoid the negativity at all costs. It is definitely catching.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

I also say to take care of yourself. I remember when I first developed plantar fasciitis and heel spurs. I was in such pain that it was hard to walk comfortably. I didn't really take it out on the patients, but I would absorb more of the negative talk because I was so freaking miserable. It is hard to be around sick patients as well as negative co-workers when you are not feeling physically great yourself. You tend to want to get on their bandwagon for a moment (even if you don't verbalize it outloud).

I listen to music on my MP3 player, am walking more now that the pain has been relieved, and I read things that are interesting and not so work related to keep my spirits up.