OPINION

The good, the bad, and the ridiculously busy

16 July, 2010 | By Mark Radcliffe

I think that the key to success is balance. It certainly is when standing up or riding a bike and I remain convinced it applies to pretty much everything else too.

I retain the belief that nurses for example thrive when they have something else, something other than nursing, at the heart of their lives.

When I first started nursing, it was exercise for me. Now it’s writing. I like to make things up. It’s not just that it makes me happy - although putting a novel in the world does make me happier - it is more that it fills me with something that work doesn’t. Not something better or warmer, but something different.

‘Unending commitment to the tasks of the day becomes corrosive for many nurses. It makes some people unwell and some not very good at their jobs’

A friend of mine studies history, another runs marathons, someone else paints very well. Plenty of others have young families so, while not taking on another virtual job - writing a book or running incessantly can become quite time consuming - they remain busy, preoccupied and full of a different type of energy and emotions from the ones they gather when they nurse.

I suspect it is the engagement with “other” things that balances the emotional labour that accompanies working with the ill, the distressed and the doctors. It helps nurses not only to survive but also to flourish.
Some people feel they are too busy to do anything except their job. They walk very quickly, not just to get to where they are going but also to announce to everyone else that they are having to hurry because they have so much to do and are working harder than everyone else.

It is a walk of rage - rage at the circumstances that demand such unending commitment, rage at everyone else for not recognising their sacrifice while others stand around doing easy stuff like talking to patients or emergency surgery. Rage that is formed by too many unfiltered emotions, experiences and shifts.

I think that unmanaged, unending commitment to the tasks of the day becomes corrosive for many healthcare workers. I think it makes some people unhappy, some people unwell and some people not very good at their jobs.

Nursing has long struggled to reflect on “bad nurses”. Some people suggest there is no such thing: there may be bad nursing but it is done by decent nurses having a bad day. I’m not sure how helpful that is.

In these days, where quality is defined not by excellence but by cost, nurses may look to justify themselves in order to protect themselves. Traditionally, that is done by showing the watching world how many hours they do, how fast they walk and how many more tasks they get done than the less dedicated nurse who walks slowly and is doing a part time degree in something pointless like history.

But good nursing is not about fast tasking. And it is not designed by political climates or fear. It is designed by nurses and motored by balance and reflection.

Good nursing is the product of healthy nurses, not just busy ones. In the trying times ahead, I hope you find a way of holding on to the things you value the most.

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Readers' comments (4)

mike | 16-Jul-2010 12:40 pm
I absolutely agree with this, I myself for example have numerous things in my life that ensures my career is not all consuming. Whilst my career and my identity as a Nurse are very important to me, I also have my training (for my health and in Martial Arts), I write, I travel, etc etc etc.

However I have to say that the profession itself actively does all it can to discourage this. It demands too much of us, it wants us there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and wants every last drop of blood, sweat and tears out of us before we are thrown on the scrap heap.

This must change.

Until then however I will continue to have a strong enough will and personality to ensure that my career doesn't consume my whole life. I urge others to do the same.
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Anonymous | 19-Jul-2010 11:22 pm
Another superb article Mark. Hope you keep it up in this vein. It articulates what I've felt ever since I began this career. If your life outside the job is great then you can really do well, when things are not so good, it's a very lonely occupation.
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Anonymous | 22-Jul-2010 2:58 pm
Thankyou so so much for publishing this article.

I am a 2nd Year Mature Student Nurse, who if I am honest, was starting to feel a little burnout with nursing.
No matter how much I managed my time, combining task with spiritual care (ie:talking to the patient!) I was still left feeling that I was taking too long to do everything.
I was beginning to question if it was even possible to provide the good care that I wanted too, whilst achieving all the basic daily and clinical tasks, as well as accomodating the demands of other professionals?
I could feel myself becoming one of the nurses I swore I would never become - the ones who barely say hello to the patient, walking past with an "I'll be with you in a minute" and then never getting back to them.

Thankyou for publishing this and giving me a new perspective. I want to be the best nurse I can be. Maybe by focusing on something else I will be able to control my stress levels at work, provide more focused patient care, and not leave the nursing profession before I have even started!

Thankyou.
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Alice P | 26-Jul-2010 3:38 pm
We all need a reason to get up in the morning and a reason to go home at night. (Or flip that if you're a night shifter). If we spend too much energy trying to get along with a spouse or partner, we won't have enough to give to others. So the first rule is, be careful who you marry.
Secondly, learn to discern between being assertive and aggressive. Stand up for yourself in the workplace, and stand up to bullies, but don't become one yourself. Learn to define an abusive relationship in all walks of life and avoid those at all costs. Even if you have to break up a family or leave your employer, sometimes that's what you MUST do to resolve abuse. You deserve emotional support in all aspects of your life, just as your patients deserve your unwavering support while you are on shift.
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