Nurses Helping Nurses
The nursing world is a hierarchy. There are nursing assistants, practical nurses, ADN's, BSN's, MSN's etc. The importance of every nurse has meaning, regardless of position or education. Being kind, and helping other nurses is not just a requirement for your professional life, but a responsibility as a human being. Nurses help others daily, this includes other nurses. Remembering to help others will in turn help you as a nurse. If you find that you are struggling to help other nurses, here are a couple ways that you can begin to help your coworkers.
#1. Be assertive.
Being assertive is having the perfect balance between aggressiveness and passiveness. When you are passive, you might not help others by not seeing an opportunity in front of you. When you are aggressive, you might come off as abrasive to others who will not welcome your help.
Being assertive when it comes to helping other nurses is key to building friendships, and building a successful nursing career. When you are wanting to "give back" or help others, you will not have to look far in the nursing world. The problem with being overly helpful is creating either dependence, or the problem of your coworkers using you. Saying no to a nurse that doesn't want to do a task because they think it is gross, is in reality helping the nurse by not enabling them and using you. When you see that a nurse has had several unexpected occurrences that were out of their control, this is a good opportunity to be helpful, and find ways to make the other nurses shift better.
#2. Be sincere.
If you can remember to always be sincere every shift you work, you will not find it difficult for others to accept your help. Finding good ways to help other nurses is not hard to do. If you are going about your business in a way that says that you are clearly looking for something in return, nurses will be able to see what you really want. Such as aspiring to be the next charge nurse, or somebody just trying to be the administrations favorite.
Being sincere as a nurse will help you be successful. Some nurses might think that in order to gain success as a nurse you will need to be aggressive, and harsh, someone who can fight battles and always win. While these things may be true, you can still be somebody who is aggressive yet sincere. A parent that grabs their child's hand and pulls them back fast might come across as being aggressive by the child. When the child learns that a car was coming down the road, and the parent was helping them, there is a paradigm shift in the child's mind that will help grow trust from the learning experience.
In the same way, if you see that a nurse is doing something that could potentially be detrimental to their career, such as possibly stealing narcotics, you need to be aggressive yet sincere. You need to help the nurse, even if it means having some really uncomfortable conversations. As long as you are sincere, even in difficult situations you can be helpful.
#3. Be fun.
The nursing world can be filled with emotions. While there are many ways that nursing can be difficult, there are equally many ways it can be fun. Having a good time with your coworkers is something that brings you closer together. If you are a person who is depressed from your life situations, or possibly from clinical depression, you probably enjoy when there is a nurse who is truly funny, and who truly makes your day better.
The type of things that nurses find funny are very different. The memes found on the RnMindset instagram account are probably not that funny to people that aren't nurses. The fact that you get to spend a lot of time with other nurses is a great opportunity to enjoy this part of your life. Nursing doesn't have to be a serious and depressing journey. You can have fun with your coworkers, and make your work life be something that you truly enjoy. The more lighthearted your work life is, the easier it will be for you to help others during difficult situations.
Key points.
#1. Be assertive.
#2. Be sincere.
#3. Be Fun.