Knowing When to Refuel and Renew

Abstract

Nurse leaders are frequently called upon to deal with challenging and distressing human resource (HR) issues. Throughout my career, some of my most critical learning opportunities have been HR-related. What I’ve learned is that it’s easy to talk the talk of “do the right thing for the patients always,” but it takes a true leader and principled individual to walk the walk each day. One HR crisis in particular literally rocked me to my personal core. Under my watch, a nursing practice issue surfaced that required swift and deliberate action, including the termination of well-intentioned leaders and nursing board sanctions for several RNs. Timing compounded the issue: A very public and important announcement about nursing practice was set to take place, and the fallout from the terminations and sanctions prompted disgruntled staff to consider a remonstrative demonstration at a ceremonial event. My leadership style and my decision-making practice were publicly called into question. Even though regulatory compliance, legal, and HR departments were in agreement with the corrective actions being taken, I was a primary target for complaints that escalated to include all of hospital administration. Drama built over a series of weeks, while the nursing ceremony loomed large. On the day of the ceremony, I was emotionally drained. I hadn’t slept well for weeks, and it was taking a physical toll. A colleague and friend recognized that I was near implosion and took me aside to say, “Stop. It’s time to take care of you. You have to get out of here and clear your head. If you don’t take care of you, you can’t continue to lead this department.” Truer words had never been spoken. But as a nurse is wont to do, I had a million reasons why I couldn’t just step away, even briefly. Thankfully, my colleague and friend prevailed, and after the ceremony (no demonstration occurred— whew!), I packed a bag and my dog and went on a short RV vacation with my husband. The woods and time away had never been more therapeutic. I needed to care for myself and renew. In retrospect, I can clearly see the steps that exacerbated my stress and anxiety. What I’ve learned over time is that failure to care for yourself makes any bad situation worse. If you’re not taking time off, getting away, and focusing on something other than work, you’re doing yourself a disservice and ultimately setting yourself up for failure. Another friend and colleague, Dan Pesut from the Indiana University School of Nursing, recently spoke to a retreat of my nursing leadership team and tackled this very issue. He suggested that it is way too easy to get caught up in day-to-day trials and tribulations that can trip up the best of us and leave us wondering, “What the heck am I doing here?” But we can all get back to purpose by asking, “What am I truly trying to accomplish? Why am I really here?” The answer for me is always the same: the patients. I am here for the patients, who make the work worthwhile. Even as an executive, I feel that I can make a difference in their lives by supporting nurses and working with them to make a meaningful difference in the care patients receive. To take the best care of patients, we have to first take care of ourselves. Only that will allow us to live a good life—living where we belong, with the people we love, doing the right work, on purpose. For me, that is nursing in a nutshell: good work, good people, right reasons. As you strive to meet goals related to patient satisfaction and patient expectations, ask yourself what matters most. And then do something for yourself to help you get there.