Advice

The best piece of advice I have received in pursuit of my nursing career is to not let what patients say or don’t say get to you. It’s important to have thick skin in this profession. Some of the people you take care of may feel like their whole life was just flipped upside down. Whether it’s a new diagnosis, complication, or bump in their road to recovery, they are out of their element. No one wants to be sick or hurting, but sometimes we don’t have control over certain things. There have been so many times where my patients are having bad days, yet they still continue to be kind to everyone. And sometimes people can be withdrawn or just not up for conversation or getting out of bed. That is perfectly okay. It’s alright if someone is short with their words or they forget to thank you. It takes time to heal and be your best self again. Our goal is to help them get back to their baseline health or even better than what they used to be! I can’t tell you how many times I have gone into a patient’s room and had a lovely encounter with them. I have left smiling from ear to ear, emotional, humbled, or honored to have a meaningful interaction with someone who was just a stranger not too long ago. I often review my patients’ past medical history to get a better understanding of their health. And almost every time I have the nicest patient, I look in their chart and see that they are either currently struggling or have struggled in the past with their mental health. It’s always the ones who hurt the most, that show such love and kindness to others. I think that is beautiful, and it makes me want to always strive to be a better person than I was yesterday.