New Years is a time of reflection and renewal. As nurses, we have so much that we can improve upon, but sometimes, it can feel so overwhelming. In addition to making personal resolutions, you should make a few nursing resolutions, too.
Here are fifty, but that's way too much for one person and not all of them may apply to you. Instead, pick two or three and keep them in mind as you start the new year.
1. I will exercise more.
2. I will eat better.
3. I will not go a whole shift without urinating.
4. I will eat lunch every shift and take my break.
5. I will not do any overtime that I don't feel up to.
6. I will listen more to my patients.
7. I will make it a point to smile more on the unit.
8. I will befriend the new nurse and make him feel welcome.
9. I will become a preceptor and mentor new nurses.
10. I will cherish the time I have with my family.
11. I will take up meditation to ease my stress.
12. I will give tired, overworked doctors the benefit of the doubt.
13. I will not yell at pharmacy because I don't have my meds.
14. I will finally learn to use military time and embrace it.
15. I will be assertive in the face of bullying family members.
16. I will find a comfortable pair of shoes.
17. I will start wearing compression hose to make my legs feel better.
18. I will buy a whole new wardrobe of scrubs that are cute or have big pockets -- preferably both.
19. I will not grumble about renewing my certifications and licenses.
20. I will dedicate myself to furthering my education.
21. I will get that certification for the specialty I'm in.
22. I will volunteer for wellness checks at local venues.
23. I will visit my doctor and ensure I am healthy.
24. I will find healthy ways to have fun, let my hair down, and blow off stress.
25. I will appreciate my CNAs more and help them with their workload.
26. I will not save all my charting until the end of the shift.
27. I will practice inserting IVs until I become an expert -- if I'm not already.
28. I will make it a point to learn trach and ostomy care if they make me uncomfortable.
29. If I don't like my job, I will do everything I can to find a new one.
30. I will help my coworkers whenever I have downtime.
31. I will not let anyone distract me during med pass unless it is an emergency.
32. I will find a television show that makes me happy and watch it when I'm stressed.
33. I will change specialties if I'm bored with the one I'm working in.
34. I will be a leader in my unit and make changes for the better.
35. I will call in when I am sick, regardless of how guilty I feel.
36. I will start saving for retirement.
37. I will review the mechanics of lifting and use them every time I lift.
38. I will find a hobby that fulfills me outside of work and pursue it earnestly.
39. I will give my spouse a break from the kids when I get home from work.
40. I will finally get on a shift that I can live with.
41. I will carry a picture of my family on my phone and look at it often to remind myself why I work so hard
work so hard. 
42. I will stop obsessing over social media on my off time and pay more attention to my family.
43. I will write a list of my accomplishments and take pride in all I've done.
44. I will write a list of my goals and strive to get at least half of them done in the new year.
45. I will learn something new everyday that makes me better at my job.
46. I will research new drugs on the market and what they do.
47. I will not use prepackaged flushes as squirt guns no matter how fun it is.
48 I will review the five rights and make it a point to use them every time I interact with a patient.
49. I will try to make every patient I encounter smile at least once.
50. I will try my best to get along with my manager and understand her point of view.
This list isn't exhaustive -- although it may feel that way! Different nurses have different experiences. This means that everyone has their own idea of what they want to improve.
Do you have any New Years resolutions that you are going to work on this coming year? Leave them in the comments. You never know if it will help another nurse.
