Archive for June, 2008
Professional life coaching: Put your own oxygen on first
by Phyllis Quinlan, RNC, MS, CLNC, CEN, CCRN
So you still love nursing, but the stress, frustration, and sometimes confusion can be a real barrier to personal and professional satisfaction. You sense you want something more, although you can’t quite identify what that might be or how to achieve it. A professional life coach may be just the solution to figuring out exactly what the next step is. Nurses have a longstanding reputation for eating their young. Wouldn’t be great if there was a way to change that perception?
Professional life coaching for nurses can be one approach to doing just that. Coaching is not a clinical or therapeutic process. Coaching has its roots in wellness. The starting point for a professional life coach is that the person seeking the coaching is a healthy individual who is already competent and capable. He or she is in need of a safe sounding board, encouragement, and empowerment. The coaching relationship is based on mutual respect, trust, and honest communication.
Coaching is distinctly unique from and not to be confused with mentoring. Mentoring usually prepares you for a particular professional role while coaching is focused on a self-development process. Coaching sessions are private, conducted one-on-one, either in person or by phone. Nurses can be comfortable sharing their strengths, shortcomings, and concerns–knowing that what they share will be used to their benefit and doesn’t threaten the security of their job.
The literature demonstrates that the cost of recruiting and training a new employee to fill a vacated position can be equal to a nurse’s annual salary. Perhaps nursing leaders should consider collaborating with their human resource departments to embrace the use of coaches to retain nurses.
Nurses actually get a kick from helping other human beings when they are most in need. This is an amazing characteristic that usually does not end when the shift is over. We’ve chosen giving and nurturing as a way of life. Self care is not something we place high our lists. However, we could take a huge lesson from the airline stewards. Put your oxygen on first so that you are safe and therefore capable of helping others.
For more information about professional life coaching email Phyllis Quinlan at mfwconsultants@mindspring.com.
Does professional life coaching interest you?
Team building idea!
This is a quick idea you can implement either at the beginning or the end of a staff meeting. The purpose if two-fold: To provide opportunity for staff to identify unit concerns they’d like to see addressed, and To help staff think outside the box for possible solutions.
You Need:
A piece of paper and a pen for each person; a small basket.
What To Do:
1) Ask each staff member to write a unit problem, issue or concern they’d like help to solve (you may need to describe an acceptable concern that can be addressed by staff).
2) Staff then folds their paper and drops it in the basket.
3) Ask one person to choose a folded paper. Without reading it, ask him/her to hand the paper to someone else.
4) The recipient of the folded paper selects 2 peers with whom he/she would like to work.
5) Repeat steps 3 and 4 until everyone is on a problem-solving team.
6) Allow each team 5 – 10 minutes to compile ideas, suggestions or a soltution for the problem on their paper.
7) Each team has 1 minute to read the problem and describe their intended solution.
1) Timeline for implementation of the solution(s).
2) Why don’t we think to ask each other for help more often?
3) How can we encourage each other to ask for help when it’s needed?
4) What should we do with the folded papers we didn’t get to today?
A Quote To Ponder:
“Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.”
~ Dr. Robert Anthony, PhD.
MRSA is not a scarlet letter
by Sharon L. Taylor RN, BSN, MS, CIC, CPHRM
MRSA is fast becoming a household word. It is seen in the national media on a frequent basis. Healthcare workers are being scrutinized by patients and their families for their infection control practices, especially handwashing. While this publicity is good in that it has increased the attention paid by healthcare workers to their practice, it also has a scare effect on patients, the public, and surprisingly some healthcare workers. While being afraid of “catching” something is good because it puts us on alert, it can also cast a stigma on those who have an infection or are colonized with bacteria such as MRSA.
I propose that it is part of the nurse’s role, as patient advocate, to be sure that MRSA patients have the information needed to live their lives while minimizing the risk of transmission. If the appropriate information is given to patients, situations such as the one that occurred last fall where a young elementary student was banned from attending class because she had a MRSA skin infection will not exist. She was subsequently allowed to return after the appropriate information was given to school officials, but had the damage already been done?
How can nurses help prevent these situations from occurring? First and foremost–by being a role model. Healthcare workers need to realize that what they do and say is deemed important in the public’s eyes. Also, by using teachable moments and scripting, patient teaching does not have to be burdensome. For example, you can teach your patient by simply saying, “I’m washing my hands after changing your dressing and before helping you to the chair to prevent the spread of the infection.” They learn by watching and listening to why it is important to wash their hands after touching or handling dressings.
For the patient with MRSA, (either active infection or colonization) and other multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs), there are many printed resources available free off of the Web. State Health Departments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are all good resources. The state of Washington has a particularly good pamphlet available on their website entitled, “Living with MRSA.” This publication covers items such as cleaning, not sharing towels, disposing of dressings, etc. Pamphlets such as this can be printed and given to patients and their families. The same information is helpful to healthcare workers who continue to be worried about passing something on to their families.
Because we live in an era where MDROs are increasing in frequency–as well as is the public outcry about healthcare acquired infections–I believe nurses have not only a duty, but an opportunity to become known for their knowledge and ability to teach our patients how to exist in this new world without constant fear. While MDROs are real, are here, and are a serious health threat, nurses must use their knowledge to teach patients so it does not have to be a scarlet letter for them.
What other ways do you think nurses can help the public deal with issues such as MRSA?
