Actually,
it's probably impossible to hide the fact that you are upset, but you can
conceal it somewhat. Patients look at
the faces of their nurse and doctor more than you realize. In fact they observe
your expression. If you are upset over another patient or situation entirely,
but walk in their room, your look may alarm this patient for no reason.
A
patient shared a story with his nurse, that while he was waiting for pathology
reports on a tumor he had removed, he was in mental torment. He suffered anxiety attacks and he could not
control the excessive fear he was going through. It was getting late and still no doctor, so
he resigned himself that it would be the morning before he found out. Then, in came his nurse. His nurse had just been yelled at by a family
member of another patient, and she was visibly upset. Her coworker advised her
to take a break, but she continued working, and it was just too soon after
being upset. This very observant, patient asked if she knew the results of his
report, and of course she said no, it would be morning before the doctor would be
by. That being said, he read her expression, and was convinced she knew his results
and they were not good. In this case, the nurse could have taken a well-deserved
break, or even explained to the patient that she was upset over an entirely
different person/reason, it would have put his mind at ease. Instead, he
worried all night, and for nothing, his results were fine. Remember this scenario, most patients assume
they are the reason you look worried or upset, try to put their mind at ease. It's
often hard for patients to retain the fact that you have other patients, and
exactly how much is going on in your work environment.
So, You
Had a Bad Day
Everyone
has bad days sometimes. We get nervous, aggravated over situations out of our control,
or we are just not in a good mood. The thing is, when you have patients to see,
they are also having a bad day, or probably many bad days, otherwise they would
not be there. When you go in to see a
patient, try to put the day and all of the frustration aside, they do not need
to see it. Concentrate on the patient, work with them as if your boss was
observing. Concentrating on someone else's pain and problems can help; you
forget your own for a while.
Changing
Your Attitude
A
life coach works with health care professionals, and admits, they have some of
the most stressful jobs there are. Your mistake could cause great harm, and you
always have a lot on your plate to contend with. Nursing is ranked among the top ten most
stressful jobs in the U.S., it's easy to see how some days can be overwhelming. This particular life coach suggests adding some humor into every situation that
you can. It's hard to be mad and upset if you are laughing or at least smiling. If you have a bad morning, like spilling your coffee, getting a speeding
ticket, forgetting to bring your lunch, it all seems like a nightmare, but take
a few moments to really think about it. If you were watching a sitcom, and these things happened to the actor,
what would you do? Probably laugh, so go
ahead, and laugh at yourself. There are
a couple of choices, be mad and stress over the situation, or laugh it off, if
it all happened to someone else it would be funny.
Sometimes
it is best to hide whatever is wrong behind a smile, and in front of your
patients is a time to do just that. You
can always turn to a friend or family member after work, and cry, vent, yell,
whatever you need to do. Just don't do it at work.
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