What causes me the most stress at work?Hmm... not enough staff/time to do a GOOD job. I have found that working nights means it's feast or famine. I either have a few patients and plenty of time to get everything done, or tons of patients and not enough time to complete the basic tasks, much less spend any time forging a bond with my patients!
Why is that stressful?
Let's see... How can I really feel that I'm making a difference for my patients if I can't even remember their names? When I am so rushed that I don't have the 5 minutes it takes to just visit with a lonely older patient? When I am so concerned with getting my charting done so that I can clock out on time and not be "counseled" about working unauthorized overtime? That's why not enough staff/time makes me stressed.
How does my body feel when I am stressed?
Not so good! When I am stressed or unhappy I tend to eat. Another minus to working nights is that we are a closeknit group (its a plus and a minus... bear with me!). We all like to share and many nights someone will bring food in... chips, cookies, crackers, fruit, candy, etc. If I'm having a particularly bad night every time I walk by the food I'm stuffing more into my mouth, and it moves directly onto my hips/belly. Now, you might say "just don't walk by it!" but since it's usually right at the nursing station and I have to move it aside to get to my patients charts.... it isn't so easy to avoid!
Another thing that happens to my body when I'm stressed is diarrhea. Yes, I know this is TMI, but Beth asked!!!! Any particularly bad night at work will see me dashing for the bottle of Immodium the minute I get home. You know you have a problem when you're buying the 96 count bottles of Immodium at the drugstore!!
What kinds of things can I do to care for myself?
Obviously the best thing I could do would be to exercise, but that happens all too rarely. I do enjoy crafts like sewing, quilting, spinning yarn and knitting and all of those are great stress relievers. I also read a LOT (like > 4-5 books per week) and escaping into stories is a stress reliever I can't do without. I also vent to my husband (and sometimes my kids) and just getting my feelings off my chest often helps a lot. I imagine that this blog will allow me to vent and free those feelings also, and that might relieve some stress from my husband. We'll see how that works out in the weeks ahead!
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When you decribe eating as a way to relieve stress, I absolutely know where you are coming from! Very similar to my hospital! There is food EVERY night I am there and I eat that stuff every night. Again, as I posted on my blog, the expectations that are set for nurses can truly cause us to be extremely stressed out. I appreciated the techniques you use to relieve stress. I think reading a book and quilting are great ways to relieve stress. I do feel that venting is extremely important however, sometimes venting to family isn't as effective as they don't understand the stress we go through at work!
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