nursingforsocialjustice

I worked a shift at work the other day. It was me and other nurses who shared my care philosophy. I felt like I could breathe. I felt like we were all on the same page. I felt like we all had the same goal. I am still reflecting on what this means. Being a nurse is an important part of my identity. I know that. Careers are important. We choose them for a reason. We stay in them for a reason. Being a nurse can be (should be?) more than just another job. This isn’t killing time until the next best thing. I would argue that being a nurse is inherently more than a job, it has to be, at it’s core. I think this is why it is part of who I am, at the core of my being, and I think that that is okay. I think that is necessary.

Nursing is on the outside a profession and discipline laden with gender stereotypes. For me, my career choices have been difficult ones. They are not popular ones. I have felt the judgment of coming back from maternity leave after 4 months, making the decision to return to focus on my career while my partner focused on our children when they were very young. It has not been an easy road. There are challenges in returning to school when you have children and a full-time job. How do you get past the judgement? These are thing that work:

Being solid in the decisions my partner and I made about how we were going to raise our family.

Learning to let go of having everything stay the same.

Learning to adapt.

Learning to put ourselves and our family first.

Working as a team.

Forcing myself to forge forward even when I want to give up.

There is value in identifying the people in your life that share your values. There is value in forming bonds with those at work who share your professional, your career, your nursing values. It took a while to internalize that each hurdle was more mental than anything, as long as I had the support. I knew that I was capable of goals like finishing my thesis, but it helped to have career mentors and friends who had also accomplished this.

I have a lot of trouble finishing the masterpiece works that I plan to write so they end up being half works…half done. And I hope half helpful. Never underestimate the power of self-talk. Motivating myself each day involves a lot of self talk. I ask myself constantly, does this ever get easier, does the writing get better the more I practice? Is that a thing? I hope that’s a thing. I believe that’s a thing.

Peace,

Michelle D.