Nurses who work in hospitals understand that they are pursuing a rewarding career through which they help patients in need day after day. On any given shift, the routine work of distributing medications and checking vital signs might be interrupted in the blink of an eye by a life-or-death emergency. Like all hospital staff, registered nurses must be highly trained, empathetic professionals who can handle the stress of working in an environment that takes an emotional toll on everyone.
Despite their capacity to manage a hectic medical crisis or to console a scared young patient in a quieter moment, nurses are not invincible. They are people like everyone else. With the nurse-to-patient ratio rising every year and the erratic scheduling, workplace stress, and increased patient demands that go along with that new reality, even the most resilient RN can feel like it’s all too much. Without a proper work-life balance, nurses can suffer from burnout and dissatisfaction in the job-conditions that affect not only their professional performance but also their personal lives.
Achieving a work-life balance requires the ability not only to assess your needs and vulnerabilities but also to develop strategies to address your needs and to stick with your new mindful routine.
Gauging the likelihood of an outcome is a skill that medical professionals develop through experience. As a nurse, you have to recognize that there are facets of your profession that you cannot change-from conflicts arising out of generational issues to inadequate staffing to heightened expectations generated by healthcare reform. Factors like these are a part of the job and, as such, are aspects of your reality that you can’t change. When you acknowledge these immutable facts, you can keep these challenges from adding to your stress and, instead, focus on areas in which you can be of indispensable assistance.
Equally important as acknowledging the elements of your job that you have no control over is pinpointing those aspects that can be made more manageable. A nurse’s work-life balance can be improved by addressing key areas of their professional and personal lives.
Another step you can take to improve your work-life balance as a nurse is to control more aspects of your work schedule-which days, what times, and where you’re working.
At Coast Medical Service, you are given the freedom to choose your shifts and locations nationwide. Coast has built professional relationships with hospitals across the country since 1979 with the goal of making sure those locations are staffed with qualified, hard-working nurses any time they have a nurse staffing need.
By connecting with Coast, your needs and wants are just as important as the skills that you have, and we work tirelessly to match you up with jobs that fit your preferences. If you’d like to learn more, reach out to us today.
Coast Medical Service is a leading national healthcare staffing company with thousands of openings across the country. Seek and apply for job opportunities nationwide, share your assignments preferences, accept your assignments in real time and more with the Coast Medical Service App.