Part of life is flexibility. I had a day off from both jobs today. It was going to be a wonderful day filled with shopping, present wrapping, and random idle relaxation. Instead, I recieved a call at 8 this morning. It seemed that my main job had a large need for some extra hands. So, I said sure.
In the few hours that I worked, I stayed very busy. My room had a STEMI patient, who ended up on a balloon pump, intubated, and had multiple arteries that needed fixed. While some of my team mates ran around (myself included more than I would like to admit), other people knew just what to do and when. They had experience in this area and knew how to roll with the punches, ensuring that the patient was safe and the job was done well. After a little bit, I followed suit. I prioritized my jobs and ensured that the patient was safe.
As I was leaving work, I had many people thank me for coming in. Their simple words made me feel like I had made a difference. Everyone likes some reassurance that their actions were not in vain. I feel like my work family appreciates me. This is how we should strive to make our co-workers feel. There is the golden rule "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This is a good lesson to take from our life.
I was still able to do my shopping. Wrapping will have to wait for a later time, but that is okay with me. I can't say that I like wrapping too much anyways. I suppose the lessons for today are: observe others and follow their lead with difficult situations when they have the experience and outcomes you desire, prioritize the activities in your life, flexibility is a good aspect to have in your life, and show others what they mean to you.
"Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you'll soon find many others around you.Truly appreciate life, and you'll find that you have more of it." - Ralph Marston
Appreciation is often missed when we are not expecting it or even when the conversation is on a totally different subject. Sometimes there is no way to reach the people you need most; screening calls from the hospital prevents that personal communication. Nurse guilt is powerful. I was unable to say "no" when asked to come in extra until I was totally burned out and felt unappreciated for all of my extra shifts.
ReplyDeleteAs a person that has to make those phone calls asking for volunteers to work extra, I find myself reminding staff that the question has two possible answers, Yes or No. I do not want to allow guilt to cause burnout and sometimes just letting someone know that it is OK to say no, makes it easier on them to do just that.
There will be another day that the phone call will be more urgent and I may try to "make a deal" with bonus $ or something equally enticing.
In the meantime. Thank you to all of the nurses that work extra to help not only co-workers, but the patients, the most important reason for our career. They and their families are very thankful that a caring nurse gave up their day off to help assure safe, quality care.