New nurse, how can I hide my emotions?

Nurses Professionalism

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Hello! I have been a resident nurse now for three months. One thing I've been told over and over again is that my preceptors can tell from my face when I'm worried over a bad shift, anxious, or scatter- brained. How can I better hide this or control this better? Most of the time I am super focused in my tasks and usually am not aware of how my face looks. I don't want to give my patients or their families a reason to not trust me. I want to look confident, but just not sure how to show it- help please!

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Think of it as "acting." When you go into your patient's room (or wherever ...) "act" like a calm professional nurse. Play the role - think of yourself as "on stage, in front of an audience."

Soon, it will become 2nd nature to you -- and you WILL be the calm professional nurse you appear to be.

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Llg is correct.

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Specializes in CICU, Telemetry.

Agree. Fake it till you make it.

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Specializes in neuro/trauma ortho/trauma.

I've been at this for almost 9 years and I have a slightly different problem. If I am really concentrating on what someone is saying or thinking hard on what I can do to fix a problem people misread the look on my face to be mad. I am always having to try to remind myself to think about what "face" I am making. I also have had to learn to not appear rushed no matter how many patients I have--that one I stop outside of the patient's room take a deep breath and try to calm myself before entering the room and then I try to pretend that even if I have seven patients and all of them need something that I don't have any other patient's than that one patient.

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thank you everyone! I am still trying to work this out, but it has definitely gotten better. Just have to take a step back and breathe! :)

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Fake it til you make it.

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I'm basically an emotionless robot as a nurse, and I would not recommend it.

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