Work hard, play harder

Nurses work very hard. We do a great job of caring for others, but tend to cut corners when it comes to caring for ourselves. We work long hours, in sometimes not-so-great conditions, and we rarely take the time needed to rejuvenate. We do our best to please our doctors, our patients and upper management. But why don’t we take time to please ourselves? We have to learn that it’s OK to take out “me time,” and we have to make a conscious effort to protect that time. If we are no good to ourselves, how can we possibly be any good to others?

I have spent the vast majority of my nursing career caring for the needs of others while putting myself and my needs on the back burner. Last year, when I finished my master’s degree, I promised myself I would celebrate this accomplishment. I realized how long I worked toward the degree and how much time and energy I sacrificed to get through the program. I worked full time while in my MSN program, and I often picked up extra shifts to help the unit. I didn’t take out as much time as I should have for myself during the 2 1/2 years it took to finish the program. But once I walked across the graduation stage, I planned to party hard!

About two weeks after graduation, I went on a short vacation to Cabo San Lucas with my friends. We had a wonderful time hanging on the beach, eating at various restaurants, riding jet skis and parasailing.

Tiffany and friends

Sometimes, you need a break!

About six weeks after our trip to Mexico, my friends and I traveled to Jamaica. This was the first time I had ever flown over the Atlantic Ocean. I had never been on an island before (unless you count Alameda, a small island in Northern California). It was exciting and refreshing. It was nice to stay at an all-inclusive resort for the first time. It felt good to be away from the stresses of work life. I love what I do, and I am definitely living my dream of working in women’s health, but sometimes you need a break. Jamaica was just the break I needed.

After having such an amazing time in Cabo and Jamaica last year, I planned a cruise to the Western Caribbean for 2011. The trip was planned long before I sent my application to UCLA, but once I was notified that I had been accepted into the PhD program, the trip became my official “last hoorah” before going back to school. I had a blast! My friends and I were able to leave the care of our home and work lives on the dock in Miami as we set sail to four beautiful foreign countries.

At Altun Ha in Belize

As nurses, we must value and appreciate any time we have to ourselves. We spend hours upon hours each week pouring out ourselves into others. We have to take the time to fill ourselves back up. We must learn to say no, when the requests will take away from our time. Yes, we love our jobs, we love our patients, and we desire to lend a helping hand to our co-workers, but if we don’t ensure we are taken care of, who else will?

So, use your vacation time to take vacations and your life-balance time to balance your life. We need a healthy balance between work and home life. We need to learn that it’s OK to take pride in time spent away from work. I’ll be the first to admit that it takes a bit of effort to take time away from caring for others to care for your self. But, I have finally learned to stop revolving my life around work and start revolving work around my life. I work hard, and I am making a commitment to play even harder.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.