Finding your voice in the workplace can be difficult.
For some, speaking up comes naturally. But for others, it’s challenging to feel comfortable advocating for their patients, coworkers, or themselves in a work environment. And to be honest, not all workplaces have an environment that encourages advocacy. But in those environments, and especially in nursing, it’s even more important to find your voice before you feel burned out in your nursing job.
When something doesn’t feel right in the workplace, it can be hard to introduce changes in a productive way. These tips can help you advocate for yourself productively.
Listen To Your Patients
Nurses have been their patient’s best advocates since nursing became a profession. One of the best ways to advocate for yourself is to listen to your patients. Advocating for them is a way to advocate for yourself, so remember to value your patients and listen to their needs
Giving high quality care to your patients means that you’re engaged, focused, and happy at work. So if there are improvements that can make your own work-life better, it can have a direct impact on the quality of care you are able to provide to your patients and on behalf of your facility.
Talk To Your Colleagues
It’s much harder to advocate for yourself when you’re doing it alone. If there’s something about your work-life that’s bothering you, see if your coworkers experience the same issues. You may find that you’re not alone in recognizing ways to improve your work life. Sometimes you may find that multiple staff members are experiencing the same problem. In which case, there will be more of a reason for your facility to implement changes.
But even if you don’t have colleagues that share your goals, it’s still important to keep open lines of communication between you, your management team, and your coworkers. As opposed to demanding changes, try to work with your DON and upper management to solve the problems at hand. A teamwork mentality goes a long way!
Get Connected
Stay in-the-know about current topics, trends, and issues in the nursing industry. For example, joining the American Nurses Association is a way to tap into a support system and become an informed nursing professional. By joining organizations focused on nurses, you have the opportunity to make new connections, discover new opportunities, or get valuable guidance on how to make the most of your nursing career.
If you ever need to propose a change to your facility management, remember to always be respectful of the different issues your administration deals with. Sometimes a facility simply doesn’t have the bandwidth to implement changes, even if your colleagues or fellow organization members suggest them. In this case, be open to working with your management team to find different ways to make positive changes to the work-life of you and your fellow staff.
Explore New Work Options
Caregivers often find themselves working with low staffing levels, rigid schedules, long working hours in an over demanding environment, little career growth opportunity, uncompetitive pay, and undesirable benefits. Innovative per-diem nursing options that bring freedom, quality, and stability to your work-life can help you solve stress-related work issues.
Become an IntelyPro today if a nursing life you enjoy is what you need!