Never Let Them See You Upset Actually, it's probably impossible to hide the fact that you are upset, but you can conceal it somewhat. Patients look at the faces of their nurse and doctor more than you realize. In fact they observe your expression. If you are upset over another patient or situation entirely, but walk in their room, your look may alarm this patient for no reason. A patient shared a story with his nurse, that while he was waiting for pathology reports on a tumor he had removed, he was in mental torment. He suffered anxiety attacks and he could not control the excessive fear he was going through. It was getting late and still no doctor, so he resigned himself that it would be the morning before he found out. Then, in came his nurse. His nurse had just been yelled at by a family member of another patient, and she was visibly upset. Her coworker advised her to take a break, but she continued working, and it was just too soon after being upset. This very observant, patient asked if she knew the results of his report, and of course she said no, it would be morning before the doctor would be by. That being said, he read her expression, and was convinced she knew his results and they were not good. In this case, the nurse could have taken a well-deserved break, or even explained to the patient that she was upset over an entirely different person/reason, it would have put his mind at ease. Instead, he worried all night, and for nothing, his results were fine. Remember this scenario, most patients assume they are the reason you look worried or upset, try to put their mind at ease. It's often hard for patients to retain the fact that you have other patients, and exactly how much is going on in your work environment. Related: Just another Day in the Emergency Room So, You Had a Bad Day Everyone has bad days sometimes. We get nervous, aggravated over situations out of our control, or we are just not in a good mood. The thing is, when you have patients to see, they are also having a bad day, or probably many bad days, otherwise they would not be there. When you go in to see a patient, try to put the day and all of the frustration aside, they do not need to see it. Concentrate on the patient, work with them as if your boss was observing. Concentrating on someone else's pain and problems can help; you forget your own for a while. Changing Your Attitude A life coach works with health care professionals, and admits, they have some of the most stressful jobs there are. Your mistake could cause great
harm, and you always have a lot on your plate to contend with. Nursing is ranked among the top ten most stressful jobs in the U.S., it's easy to see how some days can be overwhelming. This particular life coach suggests adding some humor into every situation that you can. It's hard to be mad and upset if you are laughing or at least smiling. If you have a bad morning, like spilling your coffee, getting a speeding ticket, forgetting to bring your lunch, it all seems like a nightmare, but take a few moments to really think about it. If you were watching a sitcom, and these things happened to the actor, what would you do? Probably laugh, so go ahead, and laugh at yourself. There are a couple of choices, be mad and stress over the situation, or laugh it off, if it all happened to someone else it would be funny. Related: The Importance of Genomics training in Nursing Sometimes it is best to hide whatever is wrong behind a smile, and in front of your patients is a time to do just that. You can always turn to a friend or family member after work, and cry, vent, yell, whatever you need to do. Just don't do it at work. Related: Expert Geriatrics Nurse Marie A. Bissell, APRN, GNP-BC, will be Spotlighted in the Worldwide Leaders in Healthcare Please follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest and Twitter