Nursing Student Coach
Join Lauren Chapnick, RN, as she takes you through the journey of becoming a nurse! On Nursing Student Coach, Lauren, who is a new nursing professional, along with her knowledgeable guests will give you the tools to succeed in your nursing career. They will discuss ways to reduce anxiety and stress, share tips on studying and preparing for your NCLEX, and so much more - you won't be alone in this adventure! New episodes air every Thursday.
Nursing Student Coach
Embracing Self-Care as a Nurse: Lauren Chapnick on Sustaining Compassion and Wellness
On my journey from nursing school to the front lines of an emergency department, I've discovered that tending to my own well-being is as critical as the unwavering care I provide for my patients. This episode peels back the curtain on my personal challenges and triumphs as a new nurse, revealing the undeniable connection between self-care and the compassionate service in healthcare. You'll hear heartfelt stories and gain insights into how a 'full tank' at the start of each day isn’t just a recommendation—it’s a necessity for survival in the demanding world of nursing.
Tune in for an honest conversation about the essential role of self-care in our profession. Through my narrative, you'll learn practical strategies for keeping your energy and empathy reservoirs from running dry, even when faced with 12-hour shifts or the academic rigors of nursing school. Let's rediscover together how to nurture our own spirits, so we can continue to be the best caregivers for those relying on us in their moments of need. Join me, Lauren Chapnick, in embracing the self-care journey that enables us to give the profound level of kindness and dedication our patients deserve.
Hi everybody and welcome back. This is season two of Nursing Student Coach. My name is Lauren Chapnick and I will be your host this season. I am bringing you short episodes, less than 10 minutes each, and I'm sharing with you my personal insights, lessons, stories and experiences as a new nurse in an emergency department, and my hope is to make you the strongest student and future nurse that you can be, and no matter what specialty you choose to go into, I hope that my stories will help you learn, help you grow and help you become the person you were always meant to be. I so appreciate your support and your ratings and reviews. If you haven't done so already, if you could kindly take a few seconds, pull out your phone, give us a quick five star rating and review on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. That way we can get the show in front of more future nurses who may not have found us otherwise. And, of course, you will be helping me to fulfill my personal mission in doing this show, which is to help put more great nurses into the world.
Speaker 1:And now on to today's show. Hey everybody, nurse Lauren, here and today I want to talk about something that I am navigating in my experience as a new nurse and I think it's so relevant to nursing school because I faced the same challenge in nursing school in a different way and that is giving my patients on a 12 hour shift, giving the same level of care to those patients that I see at 7 am as I do at 6 30 pm, really making sure that I am keeping a full tank and sustaining my compassion tank, if you will, so that I am not burnt out mid-shift and I cannot give that level of care at the end. Because a 12 hour shift, even if you get a break, is very long, it's very daunting, it can be. Every day is different and you know each day is going to bring its own challenges. But what I'm saying is, if you don't come in to work with a full tank already, whatever that means and we'll talk about that a full tank, the best version of yourself that you can start your day with, full, so that you can give those patients of yours the best care that you can. That is your obligation as your nurse. They have come to you and their greatest time of need. They did not plan to be there. They didn't wake up and say well, I'm gonna go to the hospital today, but they are there and they are vulnerable and it is your obligation, it is your duty, it is your responsibility as a nurse to give them the best quality care and level of compassion and empathy that you possibly can. And how can you do that if you're starting your day tired, hungover God forbid or just not filled to the point where you need to be? Now this is something that I'm navigating. That is a challenge for me, and I am by no means am I saying I am perfect. But as a new nurse, I look around, I look at my environment, I look and I see other nurses, other staff members, and I see the ones who already come in drained. They come in, they have a look on their face like oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm here again. And that's not the kind of nurse that I want to be and that's not the kind of nurse that is going to give the best quality of care.
Speaker 1:Okay, how does this apply to nursing school? Well, how can you get through your week of nursing school, how can you get to that next exam, to get over that next hurdle in your marathon of nursing school, if you are starting out your week already burnt out. If you are drained personally from whatever else is going on in your life, if you have not spent the proper time recovering and filling up your tank to get yourself through that week, that month, that day of nursing school, you are not going to be the best student and the best future nurse that you can be. So how can we do that? We have to find simple, attainable ways to recharge ourselves after a shift, after an exam, after a long day or at the beginning of each day when we wake up to just say, okay, how can I fill my tank right now with everything else that I have to do? We all have our own personal responsibilities. We all have families. We all have, whatever it is, bills to pay. How can we refocus, fill ourselves up so that we can be the best we can be?
Speaker 1:Well, let's talk about it. Maybe it's getting up 10 minutes early and doing some self-care morning routine. I talked about that in season one. It is so crucial. You don't need any more than 10 minutes If you can take an hour or 30 minutes and you can do a longer morning routine and you can do yoga or a meditation or even just reading a book or writing in a journal, or break it up into five minutes of each, that's great. Whatever you can give yourself. Some days you can do an hour and you're gonna see a difference. Some days you might just do 10 minutes, and that's better than nothing. Or sleep. Sleep is huge If you're not getting. You know what you need. You know what you need to feel good.
Speaker 1:I used to be able to get by on six hours recently, just with working full-time and doing everything else that I'm doing. I need at least seven and I know that about myself. I know I need at least seven hours. So if I got to work backwards, if I know I have to get up at five to be at work at seven, then that's what I got to do. I got to get to bed by 10 or get to sleep by 10. You have to plan in order to fill your tank.
Speaker 1:What else can you do? Can you give yourself little micro doses of self-care during the day? Do you have a little break? Do you have a five-minute break from a class, maybe? Get up and just take a walk outside, no matter what the weather, just take a walk outside, just breathe in the air of the outside and clear your mind. If you have a five-minute break, downtime at work if that ever happens to you I know in the ER there's no such thing as downtime but if you have a break, get off the unit, leave the floor. Do not go into the staff break room and just be surrounded by the chatter of the department. Go somewhere else in your facility, get off the floor.
Speaker 1:If you're a nurse, or If you have a lunch break as a nursing student, change your environment, change the scenery. It resets your mind in a way that you don't even realize until you've done it, and or you've done the opposite and you see, oh my gosh, I never left. I never left the classroom. I've just been sitting here the whole time, and now we're back from break.
Speaker 1:The point is, guys, you don't have a shot of being the best version of yourself if you're starting off your day on Empty. You cannot run on fumes. That is not sustainable. You may last the day, you may just get through, but you don't want to just get through. You are a nurse, you are on your way to being a nurse, or maybe you are one already. You worked hard to be there and this profession is such a huge, massive responsibility. You are Caring for other people in their most vulnerable States. They come to you for help, they come to you for care. You have to Fill up your tank first so that you can care for others. That is my soapbox for today, guys. So do whatever you need to do to fill your tank At the start of each day and throughout the day, because unless you care for yourself, you cannot care for other people. I love you all and I'll see you the next time. Bye, bye.
