Nurses tend to have jam-packed, and often stressful, schedules consisting of late nights, early mornings and 12-hour shifts. Getting accustomed to a new country, a new job and a new time zone all while working around a crazy schedule are contributing factors to the stress you might be feeling. Balancing your home life, work life, and social life may seem impossible. At CareerKnacks we want you to enjoy this new adventure in a stress-free way. Below are some stress-reduction tips to help ease your hectic schedule.
Make a list — Creating a prioritized “to do” list will make you feel tremendously more organized. Write down a list of all the things you have to do, work-related and not, then put them in order of importance. Check off one item at a time. Don’t do the following item until the one before it is complete. Focusing on one task at a time instead of the mountain of tasks as a whole will make things feel less overwhelming.
Take a breather — Nursing jobs can be very intense work. It might seem like everything needs to be done quickly, but if you begin feeling too pressured it can result in sloppy work. The shifts are long and the work can require you to be very focused, because of this five minute breaks can be crucial. Take a lap around the building or step into the break room and take a moment to breathe.
Use your team for emotional support — Your coworkers are the only people who truly understand what it’s like to have the stress that you do. Use your teammates as an emotional support system. Whether you need to vent to someone or you just need to share a laugh remember that you have people who are in the same place you are.
Maintain a healthy personal life — As much focus as you put on your patient’s health, put the same amount on yours. It’s incredibly important to remember to exercise, eat well, sleep plenty, stay social and maintain a healthy lifestyle outside of work. Your work life will only be successful if your personal life remains in check also.
Cut yourself some slack — You’re going to make mistakes. In the nursing industry, where the work is so intense, it’s really easy to hold yourself to extremely high standards. Remind yourself of how far you’ve come and, most importantly, that you’re only human.
To read about some other stress-reduction techniques for nursing professionals check out the list courtesy of HealthLeadersMedia.com and NursingWorld.org.
