Nurse Resume Myths

There is a lot of confusion surrounding nurse resumes. Here are a few nurse resume myths that just aren’t true!

Myth: I have to list every job that I ever had on my nurse resume. 

FALSE. 

Truth: Nurse resumes are FOCUSED documents that ideally only list the last 5-10 (usually just 5) years of NURSE experience. If you are a new grad with no nurse experience, list your healthcare experience. DO NOT list non-healthcare/patient care jobs. 

Myth: My nurse resume should be only one page. 

FALSE. 

Truth: Nurse resumes can be up to TWO pages, but the MAXIMUM is two pages. 

Myth: A human reviews every resume of every applicant for every job. 

FALSE. 

Truth: Computer software called Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software filters out the vast majority of resumes for job postings. That is why your nurse resume needs to be a SMART DOCUMENT that is formatted for computer software and human reviewers. New Thing Nurse can help with that!

Myth: People like to see my picture and lots of fun graphics on my nurse resume. 

IT IS COMPLICATED.

Truth: It is true that maybe a few people will enjoy your photo or fun graphics on your nurse resume. But the real issue is that the ATS software often CANNOT READ documents with photos or complex graphics. That means your resume with photos or graphics may actually prevent you from being considered for a job. It is best to keep your resume simply formatted for the computer software and easy to read for human reviewers. 

Myth: HR staff will read every line of my nurse resume. 

FALSE.

Truth: HR staff will spend an average of 30 seconds or less reading your resume. This is why it is essential that the important info is at the top and easy to read. 

If you have just read this and are thinking - “WHAT AM I GOING TO DO ABOUT MY NURSE RESUME???” - stress no more! New Thing Nurse offers a wide variety of services and easy-to-use templates to help your nurse resume be the modern, smart document that you will need to standout to both the computers, HR staff, and nurse leaders.

Happy resume writing!

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life. 

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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A Vacation from Nursing: I took one & you should too.

I love my job, but it was about to break me.

I have been an ER nurse for almost seven years. For some of you, that may seem like no time at all. I have met many a veteran nurse who has been grinding at the bedside for 20, 30 and 40+ years. I applaud you. You deserve to be knighted. Our healthcare system survives because of your perseverance and expertise. #careergoals

The rest of you might be thinking – “Dang! She’s been an ER nurse for SEVEN YEARS.” Seven years probably seems like a lifetime to those of you still in school or recently starting your nursing career. The truth is that seven years is kind of a long time to be an ER nurse. Emergency department nurses have one of the highest rates of turnover within all of the the nursing specialties – an impressive 21.1%.  Per a study completed by NSI Nursing Solutions, many emergency departments will turnover their ENTIRE RN staff within 5 years.

Why are nurses leaving so quickly?

• Low Salaries - Nurse salaries vary widely across the United States. However I started in rural Georgia at a whopping $20.13 per hour in 2011. Even after a whole lot of overtime, there was no way that I was going to pay off my student loans from nursing school in less than 10 years. While I loved my hospital and my job, I left and moved to California where I found myself making a much more competitive wage. This allowed me to pay off my student loans in less than 3 years and has already set me up better for retirement. While my story is just one example, it is one of many similar stories that I have heard where nurses cannot support their families on their full-time job's earnings. And the situation for LVN- & ADN-prepared nurses is even more difficult in many states. Lives literally depend on our work. It costs a lot to get our education. Nurses should get compensated accordingly.
• Staffing Issues - Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that there is a national shortage of nurses. Many facilities are trying to get creative with staffing, which sometimes leads to unsafe nurse-patient ratios. This increases stress on staff and increases potential for unsafe patient care. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that "Hospitals with low nurse staffing levels tend to have higher rates of poor patient outcomes..". Good staffing is good for nurses and patients alike.
• Stress - Healthcare is becoming more and more concerned with time. Nurses now have to do everything faster, while still ensuring perfection with every task. Medicine does not look favorably on errors. The essence of nursing is fast, efficient care that people's lives depend on. If that's not stressful, what is?
• Abuse - Nurses experience all kinds of abuse. Period. Verbal, emotional and physical, there are few days on-shift where I personally don't get the joy of one of these. This has to stop to keep nurses. The American Nurses Association (ANA) has a campaign called #EndNurseAbuse that is working to decrease the amount of abuse that nurses encounter in the workplace. In addition to the loss of nurses, the ANA cites that the financial cost of workplace abuse of nurses is $4.3 billion annually or about $250,000 per incident. Healthcare has to address this problem if they want to end the nursing shortage and improve patient outcomes.
• Nurse Burnout - Burnout is physical, mental and emotional exhaustion caused by stress, often being suffered by "helping professions", such as nurses.  With all the abuse and stress that nurses are facing in the workplace, is it any wonder that they are experiencing burnout and leaving the bedside?

How my job almost broke me.

Like I said earlier, I love my job. Sometimes, I love it too much. I am a fixer – a person that wants to get in there and find a solution to all the problems. I want to fix my patients. I want to fix my colleagues' problems. I want to fix all the issues in our department. I want to fix all the challenges in healthcare. I want to take it all on and solve the problems, so that everyone can be happy and healthy.

A few years ago, all of that almost crushed me.

All of the things that I was trying to fix led to increased stress and major burnout. I didn't have wa healthy work-life balance. It was all work. All I could think about was work problems at home, when out with friends and family, or laying awake in bed at night. I wasn’t sleeping. My health was poor. Things were not going well for me.

I decided to take a vacation from nursing.

There was a point when my husband and I decided that I needed to take a break from bedside nursing. I needed to be away from patient care. I didn’t need to be going to any meetings. I needed to not be at the hospital. I had to take a big step away.

I made some changes. I started working on that vacation.

Over the course of a few months, I started slowly taking steps to get away from work. Every time the Charge Nurse asked if someone wanted to go home early, I volunteered. I started asking the PRN/Per Diem staff if they wanted to pick up my shifts. I took some personal days. I started looking for a part-time or Per Diem position. When a Per Diem spot finally posted at our other campus, I applied and took it. I started in a new emergency department, not on any councils or committees. Just as a bedside, Per Diem RN.

And then, I took some time off.

I traveled. I hung out with my friends. I took time to explore the world of nursing. I gained some perspective and a new appreciation for my profession. The idea for New Thing Nurse started to cook in my brain. I grew as a person and as a nurse. 

I got my nursing groove back.

This plan won’t work for everyone.

I know that it is not possible for everyone to say BUMP IT to your full-time job and suddenly go rogue as a Per Diem nurse. However if you are feeling the symptoms of burnout, you need to make a change. Untreated stress and burnout will lead to the end of not just your nursing career, but also can manifest as physical and mental health issues. I have talked about my mental health journey before. It is no joke. You should do regular self-assessments of how you are feeling. Take the time to take care of yourself if you want to be successful in all things.

Things that you can do to combat nurse burnout –

• Take a vacation. - This can be anything from a few days off to a several week adventure. The main thing is that you GET AWAY from the clinical environment. Don't check your email. Block the short-staffed text messages. Give your brain some time to forget about patient care and focus on self-care.
• Find some quiet. - Do you dream of alarms going off? Pumps beeping? Your zone phone ringing to deliver another critical lab? You need to get out of that mindset. Find some quiet. Engage in silence. Breathe. Meditate. Take a nap. Just find a place where there is no beeping or buzzing going on that will take your mind back to the bedside.
• Exercise. - The mind-body connection is real. Your brain needs to be well for your body to be well and vice-versa. Exercise helps you manage stress. It helps you feel physically better. It is good for you. I am not saying to jump into an Iron Man, just encouraging gentle exercise. Try to move a little, and see how it makes you feel.
• Eat well. - You body needs to good calories to have the energy to do all the things. Try to avoid processed foods and soda. One of my favorite dietary tips is - "If it wasn't in the kitchen when your great grandmother was cooking dinner, don't eat it." Try to stick to fresh things that look like real food.
• Get enough sleep. - Sleep is foundational to everything. If you are not getting enough, you will be testy and experience increased stress. Everyone has their own sufficient, minimal amount of sleep, but always try to get that amount every night. If things are getting in the way, triage your tasks and find time for rest. It is essential.
• Appreciate yourself and others. - It is time to remember how amazing you and your team are. Take a moment to appreciate yourself and others. My department recently started a Shining Star Award and are picking one person a quarter to give it to. The winner gets a pack of Starbursts and their picture up on the staff fridge. It's not a big deal, but everyone so far has thoroughly enjoyed knowing that their work is appreciated.  

My Current Vacation from Nursing

I am currently on another vacation from nursing. I have been calling it my August sabbatical. While I am still working on New Thing Nurse projects, I am only working three shifts in the ED this month to give myself some time to take care of the projects and myself. I continue to LOVE my job and think that I am a pretty awesome nurse. 

But - I have come to recognize that time away from the hospital is just as important as time at the bedside to ensure that I continue to be the best nurse that I can be.

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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FOLLOW NEW THING NURSE ON INSTAGRAM - @NEWTHINGNURSE

New Thing Nurse visits the Athens Nurses Clinic

“If you don’t get your blood pressure under control, you could die.”

I was in school in 2009 when I met Paige M. Cummings, the Executive Director of the Athens Nurses Clinic. I was volunteering at a homeless resource fair when I overheard these firm, direct words coming from the booth next door.

I craned my neck to look over to see Paige taking a blood pressure cuff off of one of the fair attendees, a gentleman in his 50s. She was looking him in the eye and telling him in plain words that his blood pressure was too high and that he needed to take steps to bring it down.

The gentleman was not looking away or deflecting her words. He was listening intently and seemed to be really absorbing the information. In my short time in nursing school, I had not seen any medical professional speak to a patient so honestly about their condition. And it seemed to be working! I had to meet this woman.

After Paige finished with the gentleman, I not-so-coolly rushed over and introduced myself. I also may have thrown myself at her feet and asked (AKA begged) to work with her. Paige calmly listened and then told me about volunteer opportunities at the Athens Nurses Clinic.

What is the Athens Nurses Clinic?

The Athens Nurses Clinic (ANC) is located in Athens, Georgia and has its roots planted in providing healthcare to the homeless, indigent members of Athens-Clarke County since 1988 as the Georgia Nurses Association Foundation Clinic for the Homeless. In 1993, with the help of many local nurses and volunteers, The Athens Nurses Clinic moved to Reese Street, opening its doors to not just homeless members of Athens-Clarke County, but also to the uninsured, indigent members of Athens-Clarke County and Northeast Georgia.

In 2014, ANC moved to North Avenue and collaborated with three other agencies as a part of the Athens Resource Center for Hope. ANC is now open five days a week providing healthcare services and medications to patients at no cost. Services include the treatment of many chronic conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, gastric re-flux, asthma, allergies, and arthritis. ANC also accepts walk-in patients Monday-Friday for the treatment of acute conditions, such as colds, flu, UTIs, rashes, or tooth abscesses. ANC also provides laboratory testing, free mammograms, pap smears, vision screening, dental care, and Hepatitis C treatment.

The mission of the Athens Nurses Clinic extends far beyond providing medical treatment to patients, focusing heavily on education and disease prevention. ANC provides a year-long CDC approved Diabetic Prevention Program for the community, encouraging diabetic patients to bring family and friends to tag along. Nutrition, exercise, and smoking cessation classes are offered to patients who want to lose weight, improve their health, and decrease their stress levels. Recently, the clinic has partnered with SNAP educators, UGA, and the Athens Farmers Market to implement what is called the FVRx program. Through this program, enrolled patients attend classes focused on healthy lifestyle choices and receive prescriptions for free fruits and vegetables from the local Farmers Market. Equipping patients with the knowledge needed to improve or prevent acute and chronic disease is a key function to the standard of healthcare ANC provides.

Source: www.athensnursesclinic.org

With over 6,000 individual patient encounters in 2017, ANC is not slowing down anytime soon. The staff and volunteers are making a difference every day and saving lives along the way.

My Experience at the Athens Nurses Clinic

Soon after meeting Paige, I became a regular medical volunteer at the Athens Nurses Clinic. It was overwhelming how much direct-patient care experience and knowledge that I was getting each day that I was there.

I also was so confused because I was the ONLY nursing student volunteering at the Clinic. Where was everyone? Had I  stumbled upon the last, unsaturated volunteer location in the city of Athens, home of over 30,000 students all vying for volunteer experience?

I started talking to my classmates, trying to recruit a few to help out at the Clinic. Then I started talking to the other colleges in town trying to see if there might be other students out there who might want to come volunteer from the pharmacy or public health schools. This work evolved into me being the first Volunteer Coordinator at the Athens Nurses Clinic!

Today the Clinic continues to be a clinical site for dozens of students each semester from multiple local colleges and partners with the educational organizations, like the University of Georgia (my alma mater), to offer free educational programs to the Clinic’s patients. The Athens Nurses Clinic is a holistic center of healing and treatment to its patients and community.

What the Athens Nurses Clinic Taught Me

I continued to work at the Athens Nurses Clinic throughout nursing school and when I became a new nurse. The Clinic is where I learned to be a patient advocate to everyone, regardless of their SES or cultural background.

Annabella Uhde, ANC’s Office Administrator and Interpreter for the many Spanish-only speaking patients that receive care at the clinic, helped teach me how to best address the cultural and language needs of patients from other countries. Her positive energy flowed through each patient interaction. I learned the importance of a smile and kind touch from her.

ANC is also where I learned to be a strong, nurse leader. Paige was (and still is) always juggling a million tasks and wearing too many hats to count. I would watch Paige find the funds to support the clinic, manage the staff and army of volunteers, orchestrate the clinical service lines, sit on a slew of boards/committees and still dabble in patient care when needed. An ex-military nurse, Paige always gets the job done. Paige was one of my first nurse mentors and taught me that you can be a great nurse leader no matter what kind of clinical setting you may find yourself in.

How You Can Support the Athens Nurses Clinic

The Athens Nurses Clinic is able to provide all that it does to its patients because of generous donations and financial support from the community. The world of non-profit healthcare can be brutally hard, but great people every day are out there in the trenches, fighting to increase access to care for many marginalized patient populations.

And YOU can help the Athens Nurses Clinic in their work! There are several ways that you can donate -

Tomatoes at Terrapin

Tomorrow is the 9th Annual Tomatoes at Terrapin fundraiser for the Athens Nurses Clinic. This is the largest fundraising event that ANC puts on each year. It is a great day of outdoor music, tomatoes sandwiches and beer, all held at the Terrapin Beer Co. brewery in Athens, GA.

Check out the details >> http://tomatoesatterrapin.com/

Volunteer

If you want to be more hands-on in your help to the Athens Nurses Clinic, they are always looking for qualified volunteers to help out!

Volunteer at ANC >> http://athensnursesclinic.org/wp/get-involved/volunteer/

Donate

If you have some spare dollars hanging around, you can make an easy, online donation on the Athens Nurses Clinic website. This money goes directly to providing free care to the patients who need it most in the Athens-Clarke County community.

Donate to ANC >> http://athensnursesclinic.org/wp/donate/

I continue to be amazed at the excellent work being done at the Athens Nurses Clinic. If you are in Athens, Georgia, go by and check them out! If you are not nearby, look in your own community to see if there are other non-profit clinics. I guarantee that they are out there, working to provide the same magic to patients in your area.

Go see how you can get involved. You never know what you might learn by helping out.

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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FOLLOW NEW THING NURSE ON INSTAGRAM - @NEWTHINGNURSE

Sloth + Hospital = Slothpital

MY DAY AT THE SLOTH SANCTUARY OF COSTA RICA

In April, I had the opportunity to travel with my sister and New Thing Nurse team member, Anna Wells, down to Costa Rica. This was not my first time to this beautiful country. From 2008 to 2009, I spent nearly a year in Monteverde, Costa Rica where I volunteered as an English teacher in a small, mountain community called Santa Elena. I had an amazing time and made some incredible memories, but nursing school, work and life had since prevented me from returning for nearly eight years (how does that always seem to happen?).

This year, my sister and I decided to make it happen and head down for a Central American adventure. During our trip planning, I knew of one destination that absolutely had to make the trip agenda. The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica is a famous spot known for being on of the few locations where one can see sloths who have been rescued and are in the process of rehabilitation to be released back to the wild in Central America.

If you don’t know this yet, I LOVE SLOTHS. They are my spirit animal. If you are wondering why I feel so much in common with these lethargic tree-dwellers, just ask my husband, family or friends how much I love to sleep, take my sweet time and just hang out. The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica was a natural stop to add to our trip.

I am excited to share with you my day at the Sloth Sanctuary and my time in their Slothpital. How we care for our natural world is a direct reflection of how we are taking care of ourselves and our fellow humans. Environmental health and our own health go hand in hand. The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica can teach us a few things about taking care of ourselves and our planet.

Now – more sloths!!

Photo: A bucket of sloth cuteness.

WHAT IS A SLOTH?

At this point you may be wondering, what exactly is a sloth? Besides being my favorite animalito, sloths are tree-dwelling mammals that are found in the tropical forests throughout Central and South America. Sloths are known for their slow, deliberate movements and equally slow metabolisms. How slow are we are talking? Let’s just say that it can take up to a month to digest consumed nutrients. But staff at the Sloth Sanctuary will tell you that they are not slow, just energy efficient. Sloths are able to move with unexpected speed when threatened, so do not let that slow reputation fool you!

There are two types of sloths that live at the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica – the Bradypus variegatus (three-fingered sloth) and the Choloepus hoffmanni (two-fingered sloth). Buttercup, the Sloth Sanctuary’s longest resident, is the Bradypus variegatus variety for reference. Many resources discuss the types of sloths as being “two- or three-toed”, but the Sanctuary divides them in terms of “two- or three-fingers”. Fun Fact - All sloths have three toes on each hind foot. The number of digits only differ on the front feet, thus making it easier to consider them “fingers”. #themoreyouknow

WHAT IS THE SLOTH SANCTUARY OF COSTA RICA?

Located outside of Cahuita, Costa Rica along the Estrella River, the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica was founded by Judy Avey-Arroyo and Luis Arroyo. Originally purchased as a location for birding tours, the Sloth Sanctuary evolved into a sloth rescue center after their first sloth, named Buttercup, was brought to the property in 1992.

Buttercup is now over 25 years old and still resides at the Sanctuary. The Sloth Sanctuary has been an officially authorized rescue center since 1997 and continues to be a center for conservation work and research. Today, the staff at the Sloth Sanctuary continuously works towards its mission to rescue, rehabilitate and release their sloths back into their natural habitats.

Photo: Buttercup is a three-fingered sloth & the Sloth Sanctuary's first & oldest resident.

A DUSTY ARRIVAL TO THE BUTTERCUP INN

Anna and I arrived at the Sanctuary in the evening after a long day on the bus from San Jose. Dusty and tired, we were welcomed and shown to our room at the Buttercup Inn. Yes, that’s right. Buttercup, the Sanctuary’s longest sloth resident, has her own hotel. After dinner and a shower, we had a nice, long, sloth-like sleep that got us ready for a day in my personal sloth-y heaven.

MY DAY IN SLOTH PARADISE

Keep Calm & Hang On

“Keep Calm & Hang On” is the mantra at the Sloth Sanctuary, and I also think that it would also be a great slogan for any emergency department. While the pace of life at the Sloth Sanctuary did not require me to hang on tight often, I did have to hang in there as our day in sloth paradise started bright and early.

Anna and I started our day with coffee by the water followed by a boat tour of the local waterways that are off-shoots of the Estrella River. The lush landscape is filled with plants and animals everywhere you look. Our guide helped identify all kinds of local flora and fauna as we enjoyed our leisurely ride down the river. It was a truly delightful way to start the day.

Photo: A leisurely ride down the river to start our day at the Sloth Sanctuary.

Next, we met Marco, our Sloth Sanctuary guide, who took us on a tour of the areas where some of the permanent residents of the sloth sanctuary are kept. Unfortunately for many complex reasons, some sloths are unable to be returned to their natural habitats. The Sanctuary has become a permanent residence for many such sloths and is now currently working to expand their capacity to be able to better accommodate their slow but beautiful group of tenants.

The Slothpital

After touring the permanent resident pavilion, Anna and I got to go to the SLOTHPITAL where Sanctuary staff take care of their adult and littlest sloth-lings. To say that I was excited is an understatement. I WAS FREAKING OUT but trying to maintain a cool composure (I mean, I was there as a professional nurse blogger person). Behind the Buttercup Inn, we climbed the stairs to find ourselves in a room full of tiny sloth life. This was the cutest P.I.C.U. that I have ever seen. Please see the photos below to see why I melted for the duration of our Slothpital stay.

Photo: A bucket full of two-fingered sloths in the Sloth Sanctuary P.I.C.U.

Photo: A two-fingered sloth says HELLO!!!

Photo: Anna Wells, New Thing Nurse team member, photographs two-fingered sloth during feeding time at the Slothpital.

Photo: A two-fingered sloth chows down on Beach Almond leaves for lunch.

Photo: The N.I.C.U. department of the Sloth Sanctuary where the littlest sloths stay.

Photo: A three-fingered sloth awaits lunch in the Slothpital N.I.C.U.

On the day that we took our tour, the Slothpital P.I.C.U. was caring for several dozen small patients. Specially trained staff are in charge of these buckets of cuteness and work around the clock to keep them fed and comfortable.

Anna and I next toured the Slothpital clinic where I noted that all of the same resources that my emergency department has is available at the Slothpital – phlebotomy, lab, X-ray and ultrasound. The Sanctuary has a local veterinarian who is available at any time their patients need admission physical evaluations, check-ups or any sort of increased levels of medical care. I was surprised to find out that the Slothpital also has a very busy obstetrics service that was getting ready to deliver a baby sloth the day that we were taking our tour. Like my E.R. colleagues, the Slothpital staff are always on high-alert because they never knew what was going to happen next.

Photo: The Slothpital clinic where new sloth residents are weighed & given a thorough admission physical exam.

Photo: Sloth skeletal diagrams.

While caring for sloths may not seem like it could have anything to do with human healthcare, I beg to differ. The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica is a place where any sloth can go for care and rehabilitation with the goal of returning everyone to their home environment in optimal health. If that isn't the best goal that nurses could also set for their patients, I do not know what is. The way we care for the natural world reflects the values that we have for ourselves. I hope that I get to see a day where everyone in healthcare is as invested in providing the best care possible to their patients just like the staff at the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica.

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

Want to learn more about The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica?

The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica Website

Want to be featured on the New Thing Nurse Blog?

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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FOLLOW NEW THING NURSE ON INSTAGRAM - @NEWTHINGNURSE

When the Shift Hits the Fan.

It is inevitable. It will happen to you.

No matter if you are a new graduate or veteran nurse, there will be that shift that will almost break you. Staffing is short. Your patient is crashing. Maybe it’s downtime to boot. The stress is overwhelming. You are heading to the med room to cry.

I have been there and shed those ugly tears. You feel like you’re drowning, and there is never enough help. I wanted to write a quick post with some advice about stress-management strategies that have helped me cope during those really hard moments when the shift is really hitting the fan.

Remember - You can’t do it all.

That moment when you start to feel like you need to clone yourself 10 times, stop and remember that you cannot do it all. THAT IS OK. You are a single human with a maximum capacity to take on tasks. Luckily, nursing is a team sport. Reach out to others and throw up the S.O.S. signal. Get some help. This is not a sign of weakness. This does not mean that you are not a good nurse. You are recognizing your limitations in the moment and putting patient safety first. It is appropriate to ask for assistance. If you try to do it all alone, you are putting yourself and your patients at risk. Don’t do it. That is never OK.

Take a deep breath. Try counting to 100 by threes.

Victor Lipman wrote for Psychology Today – “Get your body in hand first, and the mind will have a better chance to follow.” By using distraction techniques (like breathing and counting), you start to take control of yourself physically. This will help slow down your racing heart, help you avoid hyperventilation and allow you to think clearly. Nursing is a high-stress job. We are asked to do an impossible number of tasks (see the previous section) as fast as possible with less and less support. And not to mention, we are responsible for human lives. It’s normal for you to physically respond to that kind of stress. To succeed in a time of crisis, you will need to calm the body as well as the mind.

Triage. It is time to triage.

I am 100% an ER RN, so I am going to preach the importance of triaging your situation. It is time to get organized. You need to sort out what are the tasks that need your immediate attention, what you can delegate out to others, and what can go on the back burner. We already established that you cannot do it all. By triaging the urgency of your duties, you will complete the super STAT things quickly and figure out a way to get the other things finished without losing your mind. There is the possibility that you might not get it all done. And that is also OK. If all your patients are alive, your documentation is done, and no one is yelling at you, then all that extra stuff probably was not as necessary as you thought.

Don’t buy into the crazy.

When it’s busy, everyone gets stressed out. Emotions will be running high and sometimes, logic starts to fly out the window. It is SO important to not start down the road to Senselessville. Medicine has standards of care. Hospitals have policies and procedures. There is always structure to be found, even when it seems like the walls are crumbling around you. Let those rules guide you in the times of chaos. It can be very comforting (not to mention extremely helpful) to tap into those policies and procedures when the shift is blowing up. If you’re not sure if what is happening is kosher, take a minute and check the rules. You may be surprised at what you find.

Thank your coworkers.

Gratitude works magic. If you had someone come help you in a pinch, find them later and give them a “thanks” and a high-five. Nurses and other healthcare workers do not appreciate each other enough. We do some amazing work in ridiculous conditions. Find a minute to tell your colleagues that they did a good job. I find that appreciated coworkers are more apt to help in the future. 

Take time to decompress.

This is for after the shift-show has calmed down. You need to take some time to process. Whether it is in the car on the way home, in the shower after your shift or during a run the next day, find some quiet and let yourself go through the stress of the day. When we carry around too much stress, it can manifest as physical symptoms. By allowing yourself to work through the bedlam of your nurse life, you will find better balance in your personal life.

Have a great shift!

-  Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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FOLLOW NEW THING NURSE ON INSTAGRAM - @NEWTHINGNURSE

An Interview with the Interviewer: Elizabeth Scala

This week has been very exciting here at New Thing Nurse.

On Wednesday, April 25th, an episode of the nursing podcast "Your Next Shift", hosted by the imitable Elizabeth Scala, MSN, RN, MBA, went live. This episode features an interview with myself, your New Thing Nurse friend and founder, and Elizabeth where we talk about all things nursing, self-care, travel, rugby and of course, New Thing Nurse.

LISTEN TO MY INTERVIEW ON "YOUR NEXT SHIFT" WITH ELIZABETH SCALA HERE!!

I have never been on a podcast before, this again making me a #newthingnurse. I was SO nervous when we recorded the interview last month as I have been a fan of Elizabeth Scala's for quite some time. If you are not already familiar with her work, Elizabeth is a Johns Hopkins-trained Registered Nurse, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and consultant on burnout prevention for nurses in all specialties. She is the CEO of ElizabethScala.com and founder of The Art of Nursing - a Nurse's Week program providing education and inspiration to thousands across the country. Elizabeth also hosts the incredible podcast "Your Next Shift", where she interviews nurses from diverse roles from across the spectrum of nursing.

I mean SWOON, right? #nursecrush

In addition to inviting me to be on her podcast "Your Next Shift", Elizabeth was also game to play a little "Interview the Interviewer". Below is a brief interview between myself, Sarah @ New Thing Nurse, and the "Your Next Shift" hostess with the mostest - Elizabeth Scala, MSN, RN, MBA.

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Sarah @ New Thing Nurse (NTN): I have been a big fan of yours for a long time but for those who aren't familiar with you and your work, can you introduce yourself and tell us about your work?

Elizabeth Scala (ES): Sure, Elizabeth Scala here. Professionally, I work as a Registered Nurse. Personally, I love gardening, jigsaw puzzles, my pup and dancing to jam bands all over the country! I have my dual masters' degree in nursing and business. And even though I am quite the homebody - I do love to travel and teach others.

NTN: I love hearing about other nurses' professional journeys. How did you fall into nursing? And what area of nursing did you start in?

ES: Great question! And totally worded appropriately for me. I definitely am on that "fell" into nursing. It was NOT my agenda;  growing up, hospitals would scare me! So, senior year of college I was moving into my apartment off campus with three other girls. Two of my roommates were in nursing school. One of my roommate's mothers was a nursing faculty. And the three of them, along with my own mother, decided that after I graduated with my psychology degree that I could go straight into the accelerated nursing program. I didn't have concrete plans yet after college so I thought, "Why not!?!" I started out in psychiatric nursing, worked some in the community, and am currently a research program coordinator at a large academic medical center.

NTN: The focus of New Thing Nurse is supporting nurses as they fine their "new thing". What made you step away from the bedside? And what was your first "new thing"?

ES: Gosh - what made me step away from bedside nursing was me. I wasn't taking any care of myself. My health was in the toilet; my emotions were on a roller coaster ride. I felt miserable and one night - since I RARELY slept through a night - I was having another sobbing tantrum. My husband and I both agreed that I could not keep going at the pace I was at. I needed to take a break, and I needed to focus on myself. I left my psychiatric nursing job and made a risky decision to work just part-time at a local wellness center. I was still able to work as a nurse - as they needed a RN to head up a physician referral program - so that was kind of neat! And during that time I had many "new things". To thing about what was the first... hmm. I think it was remembering that I was an athlete growing up. I loved sports, was always in good shape, and highly competitive (smile). Being at the wellness center and around all of the equipment, personal trainers, and healthy bodies - I was like "Ohhhh yeah..." It woke me up first physically to the shape I was in. After that, more and more started to unfold and I started to feel healthy, happy, and whole again.

NTN: What helped you make that transition into your "new thing"?

ES: I would say that many things helped me. My husband being supportive and allowing me to leave my full-time job with all of the perks that went along with it. Boy, I do NOT know how we made it financially - but we did! Then, my own curiosity. My own pause and need to do things that I enjoyed. Being at the wellness center, I was surrounded by resources. I asked for help, hired a trainer myself, and got back into shape. My boss at that job was super helpful. He introduced me to the concept of "coaching" and I went into a certified coaching program. Then, even one of my clients at the wellness center helped! She was a marketing specialist and started to talk to me in between her sessions about social media, blogging, and all sorts of things I never had heard of. I guess the main thing that I believe helped is an open mind and a desire to learn more. Even if I didn't know how something would work out, saying "yes" without hesitation was super productive in taking the next step!

NTN: Do you have any tips for anyone out there who might be considering jumping into a "new thing" of their own?

ES: Hmm, interesting question. I think that it depends on what their "new thing" is. For some new things, you definitely need to wait before jumping. What I mean by that is I have done a TON of things wrong in my online work. And even now, I am at a place where I am assessing and re-assessing decisions and plans. So, if you are considering a new thing that you know nothing about, do your research. Learn more before taking a plunge.

Next, I would say to the person considering a new thing... is it YOUR thing? So often we get wrapped up in what we think we "should" be doing. I think of all the dirty words - SHOULD should be at the top of the list (LOL). That being said, I mean is the new thing something that you desire or something you are going to do for someone else? I have learned along the way that when I get into something new that isn't 100% my true heart's desire... it doesn't work out all that well. Now, other "new things" that are a bit less heavy (like trying a new hobby, such as tango dancing) - for something like that, jump in head first! I do think we need to do more new things that are fun, adventurous, and will fill our spirits!

NTN: You have been a self-proclaimed warrior against nurse burnout for a long time. What drives your work to help the nursing community fight burnout? Did you have a personal experience with nurse burnout?

ES: As shared above, yes. Yes. And, yes again. In fact, to be honest, I am noticing that I may be back in burnout again. I think from everything I have shared above speaks to this questions, but to state it another way... Burnout happens when we are riding on someone else's train. When our values, desired, strengths, and assets are not being actualized. When we are living life along the "should" of what other people want and need. Now, I do agree that we all report to somebody - at work or at home. Sure, there are things that we may not 100% enjoy. And yes, work is work, and there will be stress on a job. However, when we get away from our true heartfelt desires, then we find ourselves in trouble. Couple that with working too hard, not getting a break, or forgetting to do things that are good for your mind, body, and spirit - all of this added up leads to burnout. I do agree that the workplace needs to be supportive and help us be happy and healthy professionals. At the very same time, it is up to us to stand up and take responsibility for our own well-being.

NTN: If you could give our readers your top tip or tips towards avoiding burnout, what would they be?

ES: Do what you enjoy. Set healthy boundaries. Schedule down time, me time, and non-work time. Change it up. If you are stuck in a rut - figure out why and what needs to shift. Focus on the positive. Sure, there is a tone out there that is scary, miserable, and bad. And, even through the greatest of tragedy we can learn, grow, and transform our lives. Live as much as you can in the moment. It is when our mind wanders to the "what if" or the "should, could, would" is when we get into trouble. Stop and breathe. And don't take yourself or your life so seriously. Smiling and laughing - that can be some of the very best medicine!

NTN: Do you have any "new things" on the horizon? New Thing Nurse readers want to know!

ES: I believe that I do, but most I am not even aware of yet. As I honestly (and maybe for the very first time) shared above - I am a bit into burnout right now. And, being someone that knows the signs, causes, and what to do about it - I need to stop. Really stop everything and take pause. What are my next steps? What lights me up? How can I best serve others? I can say that I have a very special course coming out soon. The content is done, and we are working on some of the aspects of how folks will be able to interact with and enjoy the program. I also know that some of my other "new things" involving ending some things that I hae been doing for several years now. In a way, ending things is the first step to the new beginnings, right?

NTN: How can our readers find out more about you and your work?

ES: Sure, well the easiest place to find me is at ElizabethScala.com. I also have a Facebook page and community. I do hang out quite a bit on LinkedIn. And, if you're looking for resources you could check out Nursing from Within or Your Next Shift - two of my very favorite books!

Oh, and I cannot believe I forgot to mention this at all so far... my podcast! Now that I am assessing where I am at and what I enjoy - I can tell you. The podcast is NOT going anywhere. I LOVE to interview other nurses - highlighting their triumphs and lifting the profession of nursing up!! So, definitely check that out. I am sure that you'll see some familiar faces, smile.

NTN: Do you have any other advice for our readers?

ES: Boy, I could go on and on, for sure. I think I shared a lot above. To close it out, just be yourself. And, if you don't know who that is or what that self wants, take the time to figure that out. First off, you will be happy that you did. Things will go so much smoother. It gets easier when you live life as your best you. If you get off course, it's all good. Even the best of us experience burnout! And guess what? We can thank it. It is that gentle reminder that we are not living life as our highest self.

Thanks for the opportunity to hang out with y'all! I hope to "see" you online. Enjoy YOUR new things!!

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ISN'T SHE AMAZING??

Hear the "Your Next Shift" podcast episode featuring the interview between Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL and Elizabeth Scala, MSN, RN, MBA in its entirety below.

A Shift In Perspective with Sarah K. Wells - Your Next Shift with Elizabeth Scala

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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