Nursing is a stressful profession. Interaction with people who suffer certain diseases always requires much energy, psychological and physical steadiness, experience, hard nerves, devotion, compassion, patience, and positivity.
As a nurse, you have tons of responsibilities to fulfill including but not limited to dealing with health care problems and, yes, the documentation! That’s one of the toughest things we have to face. And there are a lot more challenges that we need to cope with on a daily basis. That’s the life of a nurse. So, below are a few common challenges that nurses face every single day. And a few tips on how to avoid them or mitigate their effects. Here we go!
Poor health
Working in healthcare implies stressful atmosphere, which can cause stress-related and physical problems. As nurses, we work and assist with different kinds of issues; from simple wound cleaning to complex surgery. We see how patients suffer, how they lose hope and regain it, how they pass away or survive. On a daily basis!
This requires strength and complete composure. Being involved in patients' sufferings all the time can result in emotional breakdown and compassion fatigue.Yet, this is the psychological side; the physical side must not be ignored as well.
Caring for a patient, we often take too much tension in our body. Usually, we work long shifts, like 12-hours a day.
Moving patients or being on foot for long hours can harm muscles and cause health problems, like back or feet pain. Physical and mental exhaustion can cause daytime sleepiness, which affects the ability to make instant decisions.
But do not be upset, there is always a way out. See what you can do to get rid of physical and mental fatigue:
Never forget to treat yourself. Pamper yourself with tasty food or candies
- Make a rule to sleep as much as you can
- Relax by chatting with positive people, make love and dream...
- Take care of your body, go to a spa center
- Do not forget to wear comfy footwear during the long working day
The bad attitude of others that you do not deserve
As a nurse, you do a good job; you perform all your duties in a hospital in the best way possible. But sometimes, you encounter disrespectful and hurting attitude by doctors, coworkers, and patients.
Nurses rank below doctors as to their education and payment, so doctors often treat them unfair. Of course, I am not talking about all the doctors. But SOME of them might not take your skills and education and opinion into consideration. That’s unfair, I know. And that can make one really sad, especially if you have a fragile heart.
And the hardest to overcome is the bad attitude of patients. Some patients treat nurses as ‘property' and make them their target to get rid of the negative emotions or anger caused by their illness.
But you are strong! And you knew what you are going to go through right from the beginning. So, do not forget that life is too short to get offended or lose time on suffering because of disrespect. Do not lose heart. Just remember that you are performing one of the most difficult and responsible jobs ever.
Dangers and, again, dangers
During our daily duties, we can encounter a number of unexpected dangers which can affect our skin and health in general. Those can be various diseases, viruses etc. And let’s not forget about the chemicals that we have to deal with constantly. These might affect our health in a negative way, either.
So it is of vital importance to take care of yourself. It's not that hard, just be careful and take measures to avoid the unexpected problems, like never forget to use gloves or masks. And also use vitamins and healthy food to keep fit.
Time management
One of the greatest challenges that nurses encounter at the workplace is time management. This is mainly because we are overwhelmed with a number of responsibilities.
But in healthcare, timing is everything! So make sure you follow these simple rules to improve time management:
Make sure you have a to-do-list. Before bedtime, write down the most important issues to be solved the coming day
If you are not much into pen and paper, browse the App Store and find a good time management app to help you keep things organized
Life-long learning
You are busy but you need to get things done. If you want a better life, you need to learn and learn and learn. Getting new skills and knowledge will take you a step ahead of your peers So, make a few useful habits; devote some thirty minutes of your time to reading the latest news in medicine every day before sleeping.
At Scrubfly Training Center, we are organizing trainings and workshops designed for healthcare professionals eager to start a career in the field of Home Health services. If you want to make that step forward in your career, then grab this opportunity and become a home health nurse today. It’s time to make big choices!
Final notes
Each occupation has its dark sides; you have made the choice to be a nurse. And that’s one of the best things you could do for the humanity. So be ready to face the challenges. Find the strength to overcome them. Just stay positive, because you bring changes into patients’ lives and make them believe!
How do you usually overcome your daily challenges as a nurse?
We would love to hear your story! Feel free to drop us a few lines in the comments.