Why did you become a nurse? My guess is it wasn’t just to pay the bills, there are easier options for that.
Most of us go into nursing to care for people and to decrease the suffering in the world (or some variation of that).
And it’s important to think about this because it can get us through some very difficult situations at work.
The work we do is important.
But how do we deal with the parts of work that don’t necessarily feel in alignment with our altruistic reasons for choosing nursing? How do we deal with the hours spent on annoying things: signing off charts, attending meetings, reviewing urine drug screens, waiting on hold for a pharmacy?
How do those things decrease suffering in the world?
Spoiler alert: they don’t.
Which raises the question, how do we not get bogged down by these tasks? How do we balance the scales between the “fulfilling” parts and the “non-fulfilling” parts?
We make the non-fulfilling parts fulfilling.
Yup, it’s possible.
Start with looking at the practical reasons you stay in your job: paying the bills, carrying the benefits for your family, seniority, convenience.
It may be tempting to say these reasons aren’t good enough, that you shouldn’t do a job for these reasons.
Let’s not be so dismissive of ourselves.
The truth is, we can tell ourselves that signing off charts or reviewing drug screens helps people but that doesn’t really feel true.
Staying late to help a grieving family feels more in alignment with “helping people.”
BUT, it’s not a stretch to say that doing the grunt work helps pay the bills and provide benefits.
So before we dismiss these reasons, let’s make them “good enough”.
Why is it important to pay your bills, provide benefits, have seniority or a job that’s convenient? BECAUSE IT PROVIDES FOR THE OTHER THINGS THAT YOU WANT IN YOUR LIFE.
And life satisfaction is worth the annoyances. I want to pay my bills because I want to live in my current neighborhood. I want to be able to provide for the needs of my children. I want to have benefits to provide medical care for my family. I want to stay in a job that I have seniority in so that I can travel around my husband’s school schedule.
My satisfaction outside of work is WORTH the parts of work that are less intrinsically rewarding.
The moral of the story: don’t do yourself a disservice by telling yourself that your reasons for staying aren’t good enough. It will just make you feel crappy in an already demanding job.
Get satisfaction from all the parts of your job by being honest about the vocational benefits AND the practical benefits.
Don’t shortchange yourself, you deserve work satisfaction and good things.
All the reasons are good ones.
Still not sure if the work you do is worth it? You aren't stuck, you CAN feel better without changing your job. Click here to schedule a time to find out how I can help you.