Difficult shifts are the ones that define you, they test your character and help bring out your best work.
They inspire strength and leadership in improving standards but difficult shifts can also have a dark side, stress. It’s learning to control this that allows us to be inspired and motivated to drive change.
The ability to control stressful situations can be learnt but experience and understanding the potential difficulty in roles plays a big part.
This doesn’t have to be experience in general, it can mean experience in a role. I think it’s important for us to fully understand what is expected of us and through day to day, identify the potential challenges, the testing points.
It doesn’t matter if you have amazing time management, although it helps. Nursing is a diversified profession, often you can’t see what’s coming next. It can be spontaneous, you need to move or make a decision quickly and this can be difficult.
You can come to work in the morning and have a plan of how your days will run but often your plan only equates for 30% of that day.
I have no regrets in joining this profession, it challenges me every day. It defines me as a person. It pushes me to my limits with constant ups and downs. It is an adrenaline roller coaster. I Love Nursing.