18/10/20 18/10/20

A nursing story. A walk down memory lane.

I was sorting through my photos the other day (yes old school real life photos) and found a bunch of old photos from me as a student and also from my new grad years.

They reminded me so much of everything I have gone through in the last decade as a nurse. I just thought that I would share them with you!

Oh wow, this brings back so many memories. The truth is, this was after one of my first OSCAs. An OSCA is one of the practical assessments the uni does in their labs. It was in my first year. I loved nursing but totally went to jelly in this assessment. I just scraped a pass. My confidence was shaken. I remember the assessor being cold and not encouraging. But I tried to laugh and joke with all my uni friends as they told me how well they went.

Ah, another one. Finishing my grad year. The whole world lay at my feet. I was so pumped and excited. I had already had a few emotional knocks that year. I wish now looking at this excited young lady that I had started working on stress and burnout. But I didn’t. It wasn’t discussed. There was no warning. It would build up until one day crying in the toilets at work, I questioned if it was time to quit.

This is a more recent photo! Like night and day. To me- speaking from the inside. Would you believe this picture was taken in April at the height of the pandemic. But I was back in scrubs and thrilled to feel like a ‘real’ nurse again. But this time it was different. I was prepared to calm my stress post shifts and also I had found my place in the nursing world. I am happy!

Wow, it’s amazing how things have changed for me. If someone had told me in the past that I would be where I am today, I would have just smiled politely in disbelief.

I am so grateful for everything that I have gone through… even the failures! It was horrible back then and I wouldn’t wish for anyone to experience what I have been through, but my experiences have made me so much stronger.

These photos may seem like random photos to you, but they hold so much significance for me. They show me the times, places and feelings that I can draw on to help people. I think student nurses need my support. I think new grads and experienced nurses need my support. It is those at the start of the journey or really anyone, anywhere along the path, who can benefit from stress prevention, which I am really dedicated to providing.

Anyone reading this who feels they need some help should start here with our Love Your Work course. Click here for more info.

Thank you for going down memory lane with me. Here’s to creating many more memories with you all.

11/10/20 11/10/20

Myths to bust about stress in nursing

We will cover the 3 toxic myths about stress in nursing, that all student nurses and more experienced nurses MUST break away from in order to achieve career happiness.

Today, we will cover the 3 toxic myths about stress in nursing, that all student nurses and more experienced nurses MUST break away from in order to achieve career happiness.

Getting your mindset right is truly the #1 thing you have to conquer if you want to succeed in nursing. As the popular saying goes, ‘You are your worst enemy and best asset’.

From coaching many nurses and student nurses from all walks of life over the last couple of years, I can tell you that the best and most content nurses are those with the right mindset, attitude and belief about managing stress at work.

It's myth-busters time my friend! Time to realign your perspectives and make things right

Myth #1: All work stress is bad.

Everyone talks about trying to get rid of all work stress. This approach will not help anyone. It is never going to happen and will just lead to disappointment. People think this as many people talk about stress in nursing from only one negative angle.

But in our work, stress and its by products can be a really helpful motivation. Your patient is coding. That little buzz of stress and adrenaline is what is going to help you survive that shift. But obviously too much stress for too long will make you sick.

Myth #2: You cannot control stress

Now this one is SO not true. People also say that stress and nursing are an inevitable pair. This is because people are taking on and staying in jobs which just aren’t right for them. Career clarity can really help here. While it is not always possible to control the source of stress in nursing, there are some really simple and helpful coping strategies which can make a big difference. Shift recovery techniques like exercise and scheduled fun in your diary are just a couple of examples of ways which are really effective stress busters.

I have personally worked with some nurses who have used the RCA formula for career clarity with the specific task of decreasing stress in their work. I know that you can too!

Myth #3: Stress is the same for everyone.

Again not true. We don’t all experience stress the same way. It’s different for everybody. You may be stressed out by a high-pressure job, while your coworker thrives on it. This is also where using RCA can really help you find your place.

Myth #4: No symptoms, no stress.

I can totally understand why someone would believe this as I’ve been there myself. I have seen time and time again that despite not having any outward symptoms people are still experiencing stress which needs to be managed.

Many people believe that just because they feel they aren’t experiencing stress then they can’t be stressed! Stress can impact people in a psychological and/or physical way.

Common physical signs include feeling anxious, run down or short of breath. Feeling overwhelmed, disorganized and having difficulty concentrating are all signs of psychological stress.

Why is believing in these 4 myths problematic?

Because believing in these 4 myths will stop you from taking the right action for you. Your confidence is affected, you don't seek guidance and subsequently, you can't transform love for your work into a thriving career as a result.

As someone who helps people manage their work burnout for a living, I have seen breakthroughs and I know that it is not difficult for you to again love your work. IF you have the right guidance.

Many people search fruitlessly for information online and when that doesn't work, they give up. I don’t want you to give up because I can do this with you!

You can do this! Don't for a second doubt yourself.

Next week we look at real life stress busters for you to include in your life.

4/10/20 4/10/20

Stress in Nursing

I help people like you to prevent burnout and thrive in your career as nurses.

Let us not beat around the bush. As some of you may know, I am a nursing burnout expert. I help people like you to prevent burnout and thrive in your career as nurses.

Today, I will begin sharing with you the specific stresses in nursing. The experience of burnout in nursing is directly correlated to maladaptive responses to stress.

This week I’m looking at stress in nursing in general.

More importantly, today I will be helping you to make a solid decision of whether you want to start now to give yourself your best chance to love nursing or not. To show you how to stop dreading work and how to change your thinking about leaving nursing altogether.

The thing is, everyone knows about stress in nursing. But not everyone is intentional about preventing it or healing themselves. That’s the truth!

I know of so many people who are interested in stress in nursing but only slightly interested in making some real changes in their lives to prevent it. They have tried but they never get anywhere because they do not dig deep enough to truly understand why reducing stress in nursing is so important.

After working for over a decade as a nurse and witnessing/experiencing a lot of stress in nursing, I have distilled the main reasons why nurses are stressed at work.

The main 3 are:

-Emotional overload (dealing with and seeing distressing things at work).

-Physical overload (shift work is physically hard manual work).

-Workload (think no ratios and very acute patients!) and being undervalued (no recognition from your boss for example) close behind.

What about you?

Do any of these reasons resonate with you?

Based on this I want you to be honest and clear with yourself about how you are managing your work stress. This will help you get clear on what you can do, to ensure you love your work and thrive in your career.

I want you to be really clear on the ways in which you are trying to prevent work stress. Let us not talk about superficial reasons. I want you to dig deep to truly figure out a way that works for you and you alone!

If you realize that finding ways, that include shift recovery and other self care habits, may be something you are interested in?

I’m here to walk this journey with you! DM me on insta and email me at beth@autonomic.com.au to discuss more.

But for now think about what is your personal WAY of preventing and treating your work stress. Perhaps you will need a few different methods.

Also have a think about what life would be like for you if you were able to better manage work stress.

I truly don't think that it's a coincidence that you are here reading this. This is a sign- take it!

27/9/20 27/9/20

Shift Recovery implementation

As I have mentioned before the magic of shift recovery comes from actually being intentional and knowing and focusing on the pump up and the cool down.

So here are my most favourite things to try to implement. Modify them to suit you. Change them if you know they won’t work for you. This comes from my experience and evidence. You do you Boo.

Pre Shift Pump Up:

Wake up just a little before you have to wake up. I know minutes are precious but so are you and so is what you can get from these minutes. Consider going to bed those 10-15 mins earlier to allow yourself the time. Or if you are on an arvo or night shift don’t get lost in having too much time that you forget to do them. Schedule it! Use these extra minutes to complete certain tasks as below.

Read or listen to something that uplifts you and inspires you. This could be a one-pager. Read one page of your book, listen to a podcast as you do your hair. Fill your brain with good.

Get moving. Now this could also just be one minute. Start a timer and stretch in your bathroom. A couple of yoga poses. Get the blood moving.

Music music music. Music feeds the soul. Find your songs and let them lift you.

Post shift:

Pause outside the ward and breathe. Breathe out what you didn’t need from the shift. Shake it off in the eternal words of Tay Tay.

Write down or at least list to yourself 3 things that you did great that shift.

Schedule time to complete an activity which is about leisure. No housework. The evidence here is solid. Housework will deplete you further. I'm not saying live in filth. But I’m saying to prioritise time not doing domestic chores. You are welcome. Permission granted.

Try a few visualization techniques to see what works for you. Some literally picture setting down baggage. Others picture being washed like they're in a shower. Others imagine that they are breathing out black, negative energy and breathing in white, healing energy.

But what I do after each shift or what I recommend is not as important as what you do after each shift. Brainstorm now 1-2 things you can do immediately after your shift and also 1-2 things that you will do after each shift which is just for you. Start small and build up. Let me know what activities you have chosen via email or on my socials.

One last very important step is to schedule them. It seems simple but it does work.

Put a recurring reminder in your phone, or your calendar. Something to remind you to do it which you have to tick off or you have to dismiss the reminder.

This reminder will slowly change your habits.

What next?

Pop a post up to inspire others to do shift recovery and tag me so I can see your shift recovery in action!

The Phoenix Protocol is a membership for nurses seeking guidance with life skills to cope on shift and off shift. The membership involves monthly masterclass videos, worksheets and much more.

Click here to join our mailing list for when the doors are opened again.

20/9/20 20/9/20

Post Shift

So you have a shift. It can be great or it can be brutal. Or it can just be a shift. What do you do next?

A proactive and intentional post-shift practice is going to change your life. Have you ever heard of a maladaptive response to stress? In a nutshell, a maladaptive response is a response to something which increases the stress instead of decreasing it. This response can happen without you being aware. Therefore having a proactive approach to your post-shift recovery can be helpful.

At the end of my shifts I always do these tasks:

Before I leave the unit I write on a post-it 3 things- something I learnt, something I loved and something I achieved (on a Friday I read them to show me what I have have achieved that week)
Listen to a song from my playlist (I use music to start and end a shift)
Back when I was burnt out, I would stop outside the ward doors and pause and imagine letting the shift go like you would set down a suitcase. (I don’t do this so much in my new role as it’s not so heavy on my soul)
Sit outside (1 min minimum but much longer if I can) and feel the breeze or sun on my face. No phone. Just being.

At home after my shift, I always ensure I have a moment of true leisure planned. It is easy to get swept up into household tasks or doing things for everyone else. BUT research tells us that shift recovery is severely decreased by completing household chores. Yes, we all need to keep our homes clean and tidy BUT you also NEED to look after yourself first.

I also journal. Every day. Sometimes free text, sometimes bullet. But every day I unburden my mind of stuff to leave space for the next day. I love journaling and could talk about the benefits of it all day, but I'll save that for another day.