I am continuing a series for our newsletter to include a leadership topic along with passing along news in the nursing community. I wanted to focus on the positive in nursing and leadership. Subscribe to receive notification when our newsletter comes out. We publish twice a month.
I have an unexpected empty slot in my schedule today. Appointments were cancelled. What do you do when you have time added back to your day? I decided now is good time to write as I was feeling inspired and joyful. I love fall because we enter into a season of reflection and gratitude. Thanksgiving is coming up this month and I am starting my 30 days of gratitude challenge where I go live and express what I am thankful for each day. If you have never done this challenge, I encourage you to go on this journey with me. What has been inspiring joy for me today? It is the possibility of something great is about to happen. I have a sense of expectation and excitement today. I found joy in the fact that I had some added time to do what I love to do, which is write. I am finding joy in what others may think of as drudgery, at least that’s what my students tell me. I like the challenge of sitting down, to create something, and express myself. I find writing to be relaxing because it gives me the opportunity to organize my thoughts. I love storytelling and brining a reader along with me. What gives you joy? I find joy in knowing that it is a Friday, the weekend will begin, and I will get to spend time with my family. I find joy in knowing that I have to option tomorrow to get up early and workout, or if I am so inclined, sleep in and later enjoy pancakes. It is the possibilities that give me joy every day with the realization that I can make it a great day by adjusting my perception of events. I could be frustrated that my clients cancelled at the last minute or I can seize the opportunity to enjoy this time and to make it productive. We can find joy in our day. Whether it is spending time with children being silly, chatting on the phone with a friend, or enjoying a walk in the park. I find joy in the simplest of things such as sitting here at my desk, enjoying my pumpkin spice latte, and writing.
As a business owner, you can’t lose sight of the reasons for your business and how to cultivate joy in your work. I see this so many times from nurses and other healthcare professionals who are burnt out on the job. We have to tap into what brings us joy in our profession. When we understand and appreciate the joy in our profession it reignites the passion we have for what we are called to do. It helps to clarify our thoughts and feelings, separating the “junk” that clouds our vision. Years ago when I was experiencing burnout in a job as a nurse supervisor, I dreaded going to work. Going to work made me depressed and angry. The stress was overwhelming. The demands were a sea of unrelenting complaints from staff, patients, management, and the every growing task list. Can anyone relate? It was making me physically and emotionally ill. I broke a few pagers at this time. I remember distinctly one day, throwing my pager against the wall in frustration when it went off while I was “off the clock.” It was then I realized I needed a vacation. I took two weeks off for the first time in my life. It was great. If you haven’t taken a consecutive 2 week vacation, do it. I felt more alive and like myself in months at the end of the two weeks. I returned to work still in that peaceful frame of mind. This lasted for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes back on the job, I was having chest pain again due to the stress. What did I learn? It wasn’t that I did not like my profession, it was that I was in the wrong environment. I still love what I do, I just choose to do it in a different way that honors why I chose nursing as a profession in the first place. I can’t place the blame squarely on my employer. I chose to let some of the burdensome tasks creep in by not having healthy boundaries. I did not express that I had a heavier load than some of my counterparts. I chose not to speak up. I also recognized in that moment that I had the power to change things. It was during that time that I looked for another position, took a step of management, and decided to go prn as a staff nurse. Best decision ever at the time, because I could reclaim my time, while pursing other ventures. I will note that during this time I was also going to grad school full-time, working full-time, and I was a double major. By making a decision that was right for me, I found my joy again. It is a lesson that sticks with me today because I remember that I have the joy of choosing my journey. I have the power of choice. I can choose to be happy or I can choose to be miserable. I am not saying that bad things don’t happen or that I am always 100% happy. They do and I am not. What I am saying that I know that I can find joy in life by focusing on the good things in life. As I write this, there has been another mass shooting in this country. Israel is at war. Ukraine is at war. Terrible things are happening. If we focus on the bad all the time, we forget that there is joy in the world as well. I googled good news today and found out that 104 year old woman Dorothy Hoffner just became one of the oldest person to ever skydive. In the article, it says that her next feat is to ride in a hot air balloon. Now how about that as an inspiration? Her response to her dive, “Age is just a number.” How many people find joy in life with such a positive outlook as that? (Source: https://www.today.com/news/good-news/chicago-woman-104-skydive-record-worlds-oldest-skydiver-rcna118513). I choose joy.
Today, why don’t you take a moment and make a gratitude list of all the things that give you joy? Feel free to share one or two in the comments.
Nursing News
Have you heard of Maya Kowalski? She is a young lady with CRPS or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Ms. Kowalski received ketamine treatments in Mexico to treat her pain. When she sought treatment in the US, her mother was accused of abusing her daughter and DCS took custody of Maya. Throughout the ordeal, Maya alleges that keeping her from her family caused pain and suffering as she was not allowed to see her family or receive the care that help her in the past. A legal case is pending against the hospital and DCS. Her mother, a nurse, unfortunately has passed away. Read the full article here https://www.fox13news.com/news/take-care-of-maya-trial-doctor-who-prescribed-ketamine-treatments-testifies-in-220-million-case.
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We interview nurses who are business owners, entrepreneurs, and leaders. We want to hear inspiring stories from the nurse next door who is making a difference in the entrepreneurial and business space. Welcome our guest today, Marla Osner, owner of Happy Healthy Wealthy Women in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . Today’s episode, “How one nurse who turned her debt into a passion for changing the mindset of women about money.”
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