Holiday Tips for Busy Nurses
Although the holidays can be a challenging time for busy nurses, even the busiest nurse can create a special feeling this holiday season with a little forethought, flexibility and creativity.
Here are four holiday tips for busy nurses:
1. Create the outcome you want. Vision the end of the season. Feel your joy and peace at creating the experiences you want to have for yourself and your family. Work back from the outcome to discover the actions that you can take to create that outcome. Be flexible and selective to get the holiday feeling you want. Example: If you have to work on the holiday, pick another day when everyone is available to celebrate together.
2. Decide what’s most important to you about the holiday? Is it food, gifts, decorations or connecting with others? Focus your time and energy on the activities that are most meaningful. Simplify or eliminate some of the traditional holiday tasks so meaningful moments can shine. Examples: Streamline decorations; buy cookies instead of baking, put gifts in bags instead of wrapping.
3. Be a receiver. It is as blessed to receive as to give. Allow others to help gives them the opportunity to feel good too. Ask for help not out of deficiency, but rather out of the generosity of knowing that others will feel good helping. Example: Make your holiday dinner an opportunity for each family member to contribute their signature dish rather than do it all yourself.
4. Share your gift of caring. If you are working this holiday or don’t have family nearby, give your gift of caring to a patient or other nurse. Sharing is nurturing for both of you. One year I took up a neighborhood collection for the family of a sick child and had Santa deliver the cash. They never knew from where the gift came. This is still my favorite Christmas memory! Examples: Do a backrub for a patient who has no visitors or share assignments among the nurses so a nurse with small children can have a few hours off to be with them.
Create the holiday feeling you want this season by deciding on the outcome first, being flexible, selective and creative about choosing the tasks that serve your outcome and nurturing yourself and others by sharing your special gift of caring.
I’m visioning a very happy holiday for you and your loved ones!
This blog was originally posted on Aila’s blog, Click Here to read this and other blogs from Aila’s blog www.AilaSpeaks.com
Was this blog helpful? Check out our Stress 101 course aimed to help students have more awareness and skill in identifying, understanding and handling all kinds of stressors more effectively for self and for patients/clients.
Guest blogger:
Aila Accad, RN, MSN,
“Your Stress-Busters Coach” is an award-winning international speaker, best-selling author, and certified well-being coach with Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in nursing.
Aila’s class, Stress 101, provides healthcare professionals with a variety of tools so they will be able to identify how the stress response works, the different kinds of stress and many strategies for releasing stress quickly and also handling chronic stress and specifically stress in the workplace.
