I just wanted to ask everyone, what do you guys do to leave work at work?
I have been a nurse for over 2 years now, but especially when I have a bad night, when I wake up from my nap, I just keep going over the night, what I might have forgotten to do, and how my fellow co workers are driving me crazy, complaining how slots are asigned or whatever :trout: . I would love to leave it all behind once I walk out the hospital door, but especially lateley, with short staffing becoming the norm :angryfire and feeling stressed , I am having a hard time letting things go. Is anyone else having this problem, or has had this problem in the past, and found a way to leave it behind you until you have to come back? Thanks for the input. Lightning Bug RN
Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.
After almost 24 years, I know that I still don't leave work at work 100% of the time, but I've managed to survive and have been thinking about how.
I don't talk about work at home, or very little. Not only are there confidentiality issues but no one in my family is anything medical so there's not a lot of understanding of what I'm talking about. I also don't have many friends who have any medical background. I think that actually helps, and that it would be a lot harder to leave work behind if it were a constant topic of conversation.
I have other things that occupy my mind. Family, friends, other interests. I read. I don't watch much TV but when I do, I don't watch anything medically related. I may be one of the few people in the US who has never seen an entire episode of ER. Being a nurse is a huge part of my identity but it's not 100%. There are parts of myself that nursing doesn't express or engage, and I find ways that do express or engage those parts of me. Does that make sense?
When I am thinking about work or work-related issues, I find that doing things like playing certain kinds of games on the computer seems to help me order my mind. So it's things like solitaire, or a tetris-type game I have, or Scrabble. For me, that seems to help keep my mind from going round and round like a hamster on a wheel. Sometimes you do need to think about work when you're not there and this helps.
When I mention thinking about work, I'm not talking about thinking futile things: did I do this, did I forget that, what if this happens, what if that happens, etc. That's worrying!
Then, for me, prayer helps a lot. Praying on the way to work about the day ahead, specific situations, etc. Then afterward, when my day is over and I've done all I can do, I sometimes pray about specific people or situations and turn them over to God. He can handle a lot more stuff than I can! Sometimes it's along the lines of "Please don't let anything I did or didn't do hurt someone" but then I can let it go.
I hope some of this makes sense and maybe helps someone!
, I am having a hard time letting things go. Is anyone else having this problem, or has had this problem in the past, and found a way to leave it behind you until you have to come back? Thanks for the input. Lightning Bug RN 
santhony44, MSN, RN, NP
1,703 Posts
After almost 24 years, I know that I still don't leave work at work 100% of the time, but I've managed to survive and have been thinking about how.
I don't talk about work at home, or very little. Not only are there confidentiality issues but no one in my family is anything medical so there's not a lot of understanding of what I'm talking about. I also don't have many friends who have any medical background. I think that actually helps, and that it would be a lot harder to leave work behind if it were a constant topic of conversation.
I have other things that occupy my mind. Family, friends, other interests. I read. I don't watch much TV but when I do, I don't watch anything medically related. I may be one of the few people in the US who has never seen an entire episode of ER. Being a nurse is a huge part of my identity but it's not 100%. There are parts of myself that nursing doesn't express or engage, and I find ways that do express or engage those parts of me. Does that make sense?
When I am thinking about work or work-related issues, I find that doing things like playing certain kinds of games on the computer seems to help me order my mind. So it's things like solitaire, or a tetris-type game I have, or Scrabble. For me, that seems to help keep my mind from going round and round like a hamster on a wheel. Sometimes you do need to think about work when you're not there and this helps.
When I mention thinking about work, I'm not talking about thinking futile things: did I do this, did I forget that, what if this happens, what if that happens, etc. That's worrying!
Then, for me, prayer helps a lot. Praying on the way to work about the day ahead, specific situations, etc. Then afterward, when my day is over and I've done all I can do, I sometimes pray about specific people or situations and turn them over to God. He can handle a lot more stuff than I can! Sometimes it's along the lines of "Please don't let anything I did or didn't do hurt someone" but then I can let it go.
I hope some of this makes sense and maybe helps someone!