The Nurse’s Emotional Savings Account
Published: 15 April 2019
Published: 15 April 2019
Nursing can be an emotionally taxing career, and working in any healthcare setting can take a toll over time.
If you’re a prudent, forward-thinking, and emotionally intelligent nurse, you may already know how to practice good self-care and make deposits to your emotional savings account for future moments when the going gets significantly tougher. If you’re not quite on board with this idea, you may want to look again at how to strengthen your emotional reserves.
Why is it important for you to have an emotional savings account? Since we already established that nursing is a stressful and emotionally taxing career, that could be reason enough to take inspired action.
Many of us nurses hit bottom at some point in our careers when we experience burnout, compassion fatigue, and/or the effects of stress-based illness.
However, if things are difficult and you’ve been making regular deposits into your account over time, you can then make withdrawals when you need them most; this can often mitigate the impact of stress and could potentially help you avoid burnout altogether.
A nurse who doesn’t choose to make deposits to their emotional savings account may have a more difficult time dealing with the slings and arrows of the profession. Such deposits come in many forms, and the most important thing is that the nurse maintains awareness of how crucial such practices are.
Deposits to your account can look different for everyone - some examples include:
Deposits to your emotional savings account are for you to make. In order to make it a habit, you first need to identify the practices, strategies, and skills that truly help you to maintain work-life balance and feel good about who you are as a nurse and a human being.
If you have the self-awareness to know the parts of your psyche that need strengthening, all the better; and if you need help discovering what those are, help is out there.
Lean into your savings account, make regular deposits, and see to it that your emotional, psychological, spiritual, and physical wellness remain top priorities in your life from today forward; it’s worth every ounce of effort that you invest!
Keith Carlson, RN, BSN, NC-BC, is a holistic career coach for nurses, award-winning nurse blogger, writer, podcaster, speaker, author, and popular career columnist. With two decades of nursing experience, Keith deeply understands the issues faced by 21st-century nurses. Keith’s two podcasts, RNFM Radio and The Nurse Keith Show, offer inspiration and practical support to nurses seeking to create meaningful, satisfying lives and careers. Keith’s message of savvy career management and professional satisfaction reaches tens of thousands of nurses worldwide. Keith can be found on many social media platforms---including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram - as well as at www.nursekeith.com and Digital Doorway. See Educator Profile