Leaving work at work!

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This is so difficult for me to do lately. I spend so much time away from work thinking about what I did or didn't do or could have done differently. And of course worrying about mistakes I made, if I had made any the previous shift (which of course I did yesterday). Recently I have been losing sleep over these things, and I'm (literally) tired of it. I tend to be a worrier by nature as it is. Any suggestions?

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

This is one of the hardest things for new nurses to do, so take it easy on yourself..........I've been at it for over 8 years, and I still leave work some days feeling bad about the things I didn't get done during my shift, or feeling like I've forgotten something important. I usually deal with such concerns by calling the floor and following up with the nurse I gave report to; that's saved me a lot of lost sleep as well as assuring that matters are being taken care of.

Floor nursing is hard, hard work, and I can best compare it to living inside a pressure cooker.......too much to do, in too little time, with too few staff for too many patients. You are obviously a caring nurse, or you wouldn't be worried about any of this; however, if you are to take good care of your patients, you must first take care of YOU........and that means doing whatever it takes to leave work AT work and keep your stress level down when you're away from the job. It will come, with time and practice.......in the meantime, please find something else to occupy your downtime---take up a new hobby, do some exercise, take a class, anything that nurtures you and feeds your soul. Don't let the job consume you........as much as you love it, nursing is what you DO, not who you ARE. Learning to make that subtle distinction is vital to a balanced life.

Good luck, and please let me know how you're doing.:)

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This is so difficult for me to do lately. I spend so much time away from work thinking about what I did or didn't do or could have done differently. And of course worrying about mistakes I made, if I had made any the previous shift (which of course I did yesterday). Recently I have been losing sleep over these things, and I'm (literally) tired of it. I tend to be a worrier by nature as it is. Any suggestions?

Don't feel bad, I know exactly how you feel. I was on my own last night, unexpectedly, and I was responsible for 5 patients (I'm still supposed to be in orientation). To my suprise I actually had a good day, got things down but constantly worried about if I was doing things right and not making mistakes. My patients were GREAT all day.... then in the middle of shift change and report, my cervical spine fracture patient has tremendous pain and difficulty breathing... did I mention he's on heparin for possible DVT? Instantly I think he's thrown a clot to his lungs or something, So I take care of the pain and let the on-coming nurse know what's going on with him, as I leave I see her going into his room to check him out and make sure he's okay... but I'm still worried, I mean the guy is only 20, I'm only 2 years older than him so I feel for him ya know? I get all the way home, still freaking out and hoping he's okay... so I cave it and call.... find out HE'S FINE! YEAH! So then I could sleep. Thank God. If you feel that bad or remember something that you forgot to do, just call back to get it off your mind. Things will get better eventually! GOOD LUCK!

~Crystal

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

To the OP, I do the same thing almost every day. People keep telling me, that's why there are SHIFTS in nursing, you will never get it all done. It's hard for me to take that to heart, though, cause it feels like I play catch-up quite often and don't really have a handle on things yet, so I'm SURE I make mistakes that I don't even realize. Sorry I don't have much better advice, I think you have gotten some excellent stuff from the other posters. I just wanted to let you know, I feel your pain. There is strength in numbers, right? Take care...

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that's why there are SHIFTS in nursing, you will never get it all done.

AMEN!!! I wish the nurses I work with would get that. Apparently, there have been a couple of times I've left stuff (with the impression that keeping the pt alive was more important than a routine line change...sorry) for the next shift to do. It was never a "I'm just going to leave it" situation...it has ALWAYS been a "there is not enough time in the universe for me to get everything done" issue.

Today, I came home and had a margarita. (Not advocating drinking...but I REALLY, um, wanted it today)

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Specializes in ACNP-BC.

Yep, totally hear you!! As soon as I get in my car when I leave work, I call my mom to tell her about my day & how busy I was. Then once I reach home, I tell my husband about how many patients I had, & everything I did-how I was calling docs all evening with low BPs or high blood sugars, etc....I feel if I talk about my day as soon as I get home, then I relax after that! Then I come online here to allnurses & write about my day, & then I feel even better! :) However I still sometimes dream about work (I had the same dream almost every night about checking patients' intakes and outputs!! :) but now I must be less stressed cuz I rarely dream about work. Anyhow-I think if you vent about your day that it relieves some of the stress! :) And yeah, I'm guilty too of trying to get every possible little thing done before I leave at 11 Pm, but we are only human!

Christine

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