Learning from the Past - Resolutions for a Better Year of Nursing in 2014

A new year is upon us. That means many folks will take time to reflect on the good and the bad over the past 365 days. It also means many people will be consumed by an overwhelming desire to make a New Year's resolution. For nurses, every new year provides an opportunity for growth and improvement in their work environment. What resolutions will you make for 2014?

Learning from the Past - Resolutions for a Better Year of Nursing in 2014

Thousands of people will soon gather in Times Square in New York City to watch the big ball drop....... Millions around the world will celebrate as 2013 draws to a close and we usher in a brand new year. This is the time many people start thinking of resolutions for the New Year. With the New Year, comes limitless possibilities for change and adventures......in your professional and private lives.

What changes would you like to make in 2014? Stop smoking, lose a few pounds, become more organized, have a healthier lifestyle, find a new job. In making New Year's resolutions, it is helpful to look back at this year which is about to end and analyze what you liked best about 2013.....

As nurses, I think it would be interesting for us to specifically look at what you liked best about being a nurse in 2013. Additionally, try to pin down what caused you the most distress throughout the year. Lastly, what changes would you like to make in your role as a nurse as well as the nursing profession as a whole for 2014?

Medscape did a similar survey a few years ago. They asked nurses about the most important issues in nursing from the past year, and about their hope for the nursing profession in the year to come. More than 20,000 nurses from around the world responded within the first week.

Let's do our own survey and see how our allnurses members from around the world answer these questions. It will be interesting to see how the responses of our members compare. Please feel free to add other questions and comments regarding nursing resolutions.

What did you like best about being a nurse in 2013?

  • A job that makes a difference in the lives of others/passion for nursing/patient care
  • Opportunities for continuous learning and challenges
  • Regular employment in a tough economy
  • Interactions with other members of the healthcare team
  • Acceptable salary and benefits

What did you find most distressing in 2013?

  • Inadequate staff
  • Increased work without increased time to do it
  • Lack of respect from other healthcare providers/non-nurses
  • Apathy of nurses towards patient care
  • Dealing with demanding patients and families
  • "Customer service" becoming more important than patient health
  • Inadequate salary
  • Job insecurity
  • Lack of opportunity for growth
  • Issues with management
  • Long or inconvenient hours
  • Inconsistent hours
  • Dealing with new technologies
  • Putting up with old tools/technology
  • Insurances dictating care.
  • Issues with the Affordable Care Act

If you could make one New Year's resolution for 2014, what would it be?

These can be resolutions for the entire nursing profession, personal resolutions, or even broader resolutions about healthcare in general.

When making your New Year's resolutions, keep this thought in mind.

"Each year brings new tools and strategies, yet the cornerstone of our art does not change..... The best of nursing practice will always be the opportunity to care for others."

(Pam Duchene, DNSc, RN, Vice President, Patient Care services at St. Joseph Hospital, Nashua, NH)

Good luck with your resolutions and Happy New Year! May 2014 be your best yet! Nurses Rock!!

You might like to read Be the Nurse You Would Want as a Patient; Munchausen by Internet: The Lying Disease that Preys on the Heart, and other articles in my blog Body, Mind, and Soul

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tnbutterfly - Mary

About tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN

(Columnist)

nbutterfly has been in nursing for more than 30 years, with experience in med-surg, pediatrics, psychiatrics, parish nursing, and disaster nursing. She is currently a parish nurse.....a position which she has had for the past 15 years. As the allnurses.com Content & Community Director, don't hesitate to contact her if you have suggestions or need assistance.

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Specializes in Oncology, Ortho/trauma,.

Well given that my hospital started scripting this past year and next year will start enforcing it, I hope to try and remember ADIT and do it without rolling my eyes and with some form of sincerity. Some other smaller things is bringing a warm wash rag with the morning meds so that the patient can wash their face in the morning. Offering a snack (crackers or ice cream) with the afternoon meds and a fresh hot blanket in the evening with the evening meds. I hope by adding these little touches it may help bring some more "customer service" aspect.

The bigger goal is I will be taking my CMSRN exam.

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Specializes in Sleep medicine,Floor nursing, OR, Trauma.

Although I can see your point, and I agree that self reflection is critical to evolution of self in both a professional and personal context....personally, I like to set the bar...shall we say a bit lower?

or, more to the point:

In summation:

Happy New Year!

~~CP~~

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

:roflmao: thanks CP...I already have my cubes of Colby and pepper jack ;)

The best aspect of the year was remaining steadily employed; what I would like to improve upon is WHAT would I like to do as a nurse; Most, but one of my positions were lateral transfers as a LPN; I left one position because the new grad program, at least for what I needs in a hospital was NOT a good fit-I could go back there, however, I need much more experince, IMHO before going back-IF that is what I want to do.

I am a nursing supervisor at a nursing home and gaining leadership experience, but I do not want to remain in leadership or administration, so again, I am looking for another job that will "fit" what type of nursing path I want. :yes:.

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Some goals I have for this coming year are: 1) join a nursing association of some kind 2) become involved in establishing a national nursing residency program similar in purpose to the one doctors have 3) Find a job where I have more focus on and interaction with patients, less so with nasty "support" staff (sorry, it's been a bad year on that front). Wishing everyone the best for 2014 and onward!

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

2013 was a horrible year for me in almost all respects, especially my personal life and career, both of which went in the dumper around the same time. However, the year is ending on a high note as I'm healthy again, some of the other problems that arose are either resolved or getting better, and today I officially retired from clinical nursing. :yes:

Now that 2014 is almost here, I can look forward to my new adventures as a state surveyor and savor the fact that I'm well enough to take a calculated risk every now and then. The way I look at it, what most of us regret at the end of our lives are the chances we didn't take and the things we didn't do because we were too afraid to try......I'm tired of living my life by the "what ifs".

So begins Act II of my career. May we all enjoy success in the coming year!

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Specializes in adult psych, LTC/SNF, child psych.
What did you like best about being a nurse in 2013?

I had taken some time out from nursing and started my first nursing job after my hiatus in May. I started off on day shift in my current facility (sub acute rehab/nursing home) and one of the things I liked most was seeing residents discharged from rehab, and leaving my facility, to go home and resume their regular lives.

What did you find most distressing in 2013?

I switched into a management type position (house supervisor) in October and was stressed out mainly by things out of my control. (And yes, I know the Serenity Prayer.) Staffing, from amount of staff on duty to amount of available staff, and morale amount my staff have been distressing. Most of my staff are strong and good at what they do, but there's hardly any recognition on night shift.

If you could make one New Year's resolution for 2014, what would it be?

Set limits with higher management on what's appropriate for me to do and what's too much work. I am but one person and it's insane to make me do the job of two: supervising the house *and* providing nursing care to 30 residents.

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Specializes in adult psych, LTC/SNF, child psych.

I am a nursing supervisor at a nursing home and gaining leadership experience, but I do not want to remain in leadership or administration, so again, I am looking for another job that will "fit" what type of nursing path I want. :yes:.

Hey - we're birds of a feather! I do M-F nights and am having a similar crisis. I'm resuming classes in the spring to finish my MSN in Nursing Education but feel like my skills could be used best in hospice or community health, or even in my first field of psych. This position sure is a stepping stone, isn't it?

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.

For Dialysis patients to have the care they deserve and find solutions to long term problems

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Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.

Viva, I know 2014 has got to be better for you! You have been through it in 2013.

Praying for a better year ahead.

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I'm glad I was able to be employed in these tough times. I hate the fact that I make next to nothing. My goal for 2014 is to enroll back into school. I feel limited as an LPN in my area.

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Money, money, money. :sour:

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