Managing Your Time As A Nurse Essay

I became a mother at a very young age, seventeen years old. When I was in labor at the hospital, I experienced the nursing care of two very distinct nurses. I quickly became aware of the demeanor of the night nurse. She was unkind, pushy, and insensitive. She also did not explain things and did not smile much. On the other hand, the day nurse was merrier, compassionate, caring, informative, and reassuring. Despite my juvenile state, my comprehension was very astute. I comprehended that there are two types of nurses. One who solely works to attain a paycheck and the nurse who chose the nursing profession because they value humanity. Simultaneously, I was becoming a mother and discovering what my profession would be thanks to the caring day nurse who was a role model.

A profession can be defined as a “prestigious occupation with a high degree of identification among its member that requires a length and rigorous education in an intellectually demanding and theoretically based course of study; that engages in rigorous self-regulation and control; that holds authority over clients; and that puts service to society above simple self interest” (Schwirian, 1998, p. 6). Nursing is just that, and with its specific body of knowledge, standards, and codes of ethics, it is only fitting that it be self-regulated (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2012). The College of Nurses works with registered nurses, registered practical nurses, and nurse practioners to determine whether or not standards and best practices are met and that the public’s safety is protected.

Current literature continues to reiterate the indicators of a major shortage of registered nurses (RNs) in the United States. The total RN population has been increasing since 1980, which means that we have more RNs in this country than ever before (Nursing Shortage). Even though the RN population is increasing, it is growing at a much slower rate then when compared to the rate of growth of the U.S. population (Nursing Shortage). We are seeing less skilled nurses “at a time of an increasingly aging population with complex care

Workload of the staff nurse can be heavy and in order to decrease stress and avoid burnout, nurses must learn to prioritize. Prioritization is a skill that nurses need to obtain to make the very best use of their time. It is also important because the better nurses can manage and use their time, the less stress they will have because they can do their job when they are supposed to do it. To manage time, nurses “need to create an environment supportive of time management and patient care” (Kelly, 2008, p. 393). To help manage time, nurses must set priorities. Kelly (2008) advices nurses use the “first thing first principle.” When a nurse realizes that certain things are more urgent than others, they can better manage their time to care for their patients in the time necessary. Kelly (2008), explained that

A number of emotions were felt during this experience, in regards to transitioning from a student nurse to the registered nurse role. Primarily, the transition in role from student nurse to registered nurse was similar to any clinical experience I have had at Midlands Technical College. I was placed in a medical-surgical rotation. I felt slighted that not only were we required to complete a data tool but we also participated in the teamwork model demonstrated in prior semesters. Personally, I did not feel a transition during this particular clinical experience.

A Registered Nurse is a person who enjoys helping other people. They practically have the responsibility for many peoples lives. What’s interesting about a Registered Nurse is that they get to learn about all the parts of the human body. A Registered Nurse works in the medical field and needs to be ready with anything that comes their way. There could be a sudden death, some kind of medical issue that pops up, and even a patient just falls over and hurt themselves. As a Registered Nurse they need to be able to deal with blood, snot, vomit etc. The main thing a Registered Nurse has to be good at is being able, and wanting to help people in need.

My community service work at County Hospital is to care for the rudimentary needs of each patient. My goals are to provide inspiration during the healing process, teach kindness and compassion, and discover my own abilities for empathy. "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I'll try again to tomorrow (Mary Anne Radmacher)." My hope as a volunteer is to help each patient find that voice, find that courage to go forward.

We live in a world where the human race seems to be disconnected. Nowadays it feels that there are not enough people helping each other. I don’t treat life like a competition I look at it and I ask myself how may I help? What may I do to make this world a more suitable place for all to live a comfortable and peaceful life? I yearn to come forward and fulfill my role and contribute to our society in any way possible. Nursing is my calling for helping others. It sounds cliché, this I know, but it’s what I desire and what I decided to do with my body, mind, and soul.

Prioritizing is also necessary tool for effective time management. Nurses have to prioritize tasks on their route and finish tasks from high to low priority order (Waterworth, 2003). In addition, nurses should be careful of some priority setting traps. The first trap is "whatever hits first" which means a nurse responds to tasks that happen first instead of thinking twice and then responding. The second trap is the "squeaky wheel", a patient who is able to gather the most attention from a nurse to hear his or her urgent request may not be the

As of 2008, there were about 753,600 Licensed Practical Nurses and 2,618,700 Registered Nurses in the United States (U.S. Department of Labor, 2010-11). In the year 2018, the LPN employment percentage is expected to rise 21% while the RN rate should be approximately 22% (U.S. Department of Labor, 2010-11). This may not seem that high, but it is, when one considers that the expected employment rate for a Dentist is only expected to be 16% (U.S Department of Labor, 2010-11). Nursing is a highly respected and sought after career because every person that enters this profession is able to make a difference and is needed by the general population for his/her skills and contributions to the medical field. When a person is contemplating entering

After persuing your career as a Registered Nurse, dramatic changes will be very noticable in your life. You will find yourself doing things you'd never thought you'd do, and also seeing a variety of things you never imagined seeing. Being in the career path as such, can bring on a healthier, yet less stressful lifestyle. Becoming a Registered Nurse would be a life changer. Some ways becoming a Registered Nurse would impact my life are the good pay and benfits, having the ability to save others lives, and also being able to motivate younger kids and teenagers to persue their dream in becoming a RN.

Health care administrators argue that having only two shifts a day (day and night) will help improve patient care because there would only be two nurses who would take care of a patient during a 24-hour shift. But still, it takes more hired nurses to fill a week's schedule to accommodate each 12 hour shift is covered because a nurse can only work so many hours in a week. Annette Richardson claims that nurses who work extended hour shifts will be less productive during the last 2 to 3 hours of their shift. Signs of nurses being unproductive are; if he/she is taking a longer time to be with a patient than necessary, not completing patient charts and not being thorough on reports (Carson, 830). Nursing administration is there to help make patients and nurses happy and healthy. Health care administration wants the most work productivity as possible, and with having the last 3 hours of a nurse's shift being unproductive will diminish that goal. Studies have shown that the most productive work schedule is working an eight-hour shift because it has the least number of errors

they also receive on the job training as education through trial and error while working

"A RN's day is never typical or predictable. 12 hour shifts, 3 days a work week, and sometimes they would go through the night. Always have to be critically thinking to be prepared for any and all new situations to arise. Never always one on one with someone for the whole shift but a good portion was in direct patient care for about 90% of the time and the rest was paperwork."

     “Nursing is an art: and if it is to be made an art, It requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter´s or sculptor´s work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God´s spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts: I had almost said, the finest of Fine Arts.” Spoken by a true nurse, Florence Nightingale; a pioneer of nursing and a reformer of hospital sanitation methods.