More often than not, nursing rocks! But the truth is, sometimes nursing sucks too. Helping others during the most vulnerable time in their life takes guts – and that’s why this article is dedicated to helping you get inspired again.
1. Attend a Conference or Retreat
Physically getting up and heading out for the weekend to connect with professional peers and learn cutting-edge trends helps you to remember WHY you got started in the profession in the first place – and excites you for what’s to come for the industry.
2. Spend Time Outside in Nature
Being in nature helps us practice mindfulness and recharge as you release the stress you feel from your career and day-to-day life.
3. Watch TED Talks
If you’ve ever watched a TED Talk, you know they are powerful tools for an immediate shot of inspiration. Taking some time to watch these videos (or go to one in person) is sure to recharge your battery, especially if they’re in the medical field.
Here are a couple of our favorites:
You only need 10-15 minutes and a WiFi connection to listen!
4. Write a Nursing Bucket List
Think of all the professional things you want to accomplish throughout the span of your career. The key is ensuring each item on your list has some emotional tie, and you can include all sorts of things.
Your list should be totally unique to you, but here are some ideas:
- Write a children’s book about not being afraid of the hospital.
- Attend at least one conference a year (and you already know this is a great idea).
- Create a successful podcast about nursing.
- Get promoted to [insert desired title here].
- And the list goes on!
Ultimately, creating a nursing bucket list will inspire you to reach those goals. This exercise can be done and then reviewed every so often to keep things fresh.
5. Learn Something New
Take on a new hobby completely outside of nursing. Learning something totally new will not only be fun and exciting, but it will remind you how hard you worked to become the nurse you are today.
Not only will it provide the benefits listed earlier, but it will also focus your mind on something other than nursing.
Taking your mind off of work is important no matter your profession. Make sure you have non-work elements throughout your life to keep a balance.
6. Volunteer Outside of the Hospital
Another way to introduce non-nursing elements to your life is to volunteer with an organization that has nothing to do with the medical field.
The nursing profession is so selfless and important. It’s not outside of your wheelhouse to do for others. Finding an organization that speaks to your other passions will not be hard!
7. Meditate
Meditation can help to clear your head and remove any negativity you may be feeling. And only requiring 10 minutes of your day, it’s a small task that makes a huge impact!
8. Spend Time Creating Something
It’s time to bring out the craft supplies! Spending time creating something is proven to support positive thinking.
The act of creating takes focus and putting your mind in creativity mode will naturally allow you to become inspired.
9. Reflect on Your Nursing Accomplishments
Reflecting on your accomplishments is about maintaining a level of excitement and pride in your work.
The easiest way to make the most of the exercise is to start a journal. Commit to the simple task of noting your accomplishments once a month, which will make you eager to achieve even more.
Least Stressful Nursing Jobs
It’s possible that a specialty change is in the cards for you. If you still feel like you’re bogged down by the profession, let’s review some options.
You can switch to a least stressful nursing job:
- Resort, Cruise or Air Travel Nurse
- School Nurse / Camp Nurse
- Public Health Nurse
- Nursing Administrator
- Nurse Educator
And you can even take on a job for nurses who don’t want to be nurses! Let’s review.
Nursing Informatics
This cutting-edge specialty takes nurses away from direct patient care and puts them into the tech world.
With a focus on developing and applying biomedical and health informatics, Infomatic Nurses are helping transform the healthcare field through data analysis. As you can imagine, this speciality has notable professional growth potential.
To enter this specialty, you will need to obtain a masters degree in Informatics Nursing.
Research Nursing
Research nurses do still work with patients but in a totally unique capacity.
This specialty is focused on creating and designing clinical studies. Nurses help the rest of the research medical team to seek out and analyze data. After a study is completed, you often report on your findings and may even publish results.
What’s exceptionally exciting about this career choice is the wide-ranging long-term impact studies have in the medical field. Your research creates new opportunities to save lives!
Love Nursing Again
Whatever rut you may find yourself in, there are so many things you can do to feel inspired, excited, and motivated again. Try out a few things and see what works best for you!
