Wait. Take a minute. Are you okay?

Have you had a close friend or colleague ask if you are, okay?  Instead of immediately thinking, “How sweet, they care about me,” consider why they are asking.

As we navigate our lives in healthcare, we often find ourselves moving through the days and weeks without pausing to consider whether we are content, fulfilled, or even remotely happy in our careers, let alone in our lives. Maybe you love your patients, but don’t love your shift. Maybe you are in IT and miss patient care. Maybe you thought you wanted to be “the boss” and now you feel isolated. Maybe you wanted to “make a difference”, and you’re not.

In one nursing survey performed during the pandemic, 70% of nurses “said they put the health, safety, and wellness of their patients before their own.” (Blog - Nursing, 2019). I personally don't believe this is ONLY attributable to the pandemic or nurses. Whether in direct patient care, ancillary services, sales or leadership, people in healthcare do not prioritize their lives, their health and their safety. If you are reading this blog, you are self-reflecting. Most of my friends and colleagues know all about self-reflection.

Self-reflection is the process of carefully considering and thoughtfully pondering one's own thoughts, feelings, experiences, and actions. When we give our mind and body the space to self-reflect, we create a deeper understanding of ourselves, make informed decisions, foster personal and professional growth, and enhance our overall well-being.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Self-reflection should be practiced often to learn about our healthcare career journey and how it impacts our life. Unfortunately,  self-reflection is too often not translated to making our lives better. We simply don’t take the next step. But let’s try a different angle.

CALL TO ACTION:

1. Start with others.

2. TODAY, ask one person if they are okay.

Make sure it is that one person you know is not or the one you have been avoiding asking, because you know they may tell you.

3. Listen. Don’t try to “fix it”.

4. Then next week - consider how you may help.

Maybe just listening or checking in again. Maybe changing how you work with them. If you’re a leader, maybe this is the time to change their tasks, their team or encourage some time off. Maybe you cannot help them at all. But asking and listening and caring…don’t we all deserve that?

5. Then ask yourself if this exercise allowed you to consider your own joy in your job. What if someone gave you the same grace? Listened. Cared for you. Tried to help.

Change starts with us. There are hundreds of books on Mindfulness and Self-reflection, but the real value is achieved when we act on what we learn. Encourage change in others. Stop fostering fears and stop avoiding the tough conversations with others and ourselves. Don’t just reflect but make a plan to move toward a better way of life, whether within your current role or outside of it.

Thank you!

Unsure how to get started making a move toward a better way of working in healthcare, Let’s Talk.