Embracing Positivity: The No-Complaining Challenge For Nurses
During that part of my career when I walked the hospital hallways as a Registered Nurse, I would reach my assigned floor to receive report and couldn’t help but hear many colleagues as they complained about patients, the hospital and, in general, our profession. Immediately I would feel like energy was being drained from my body and I had to ask myself, “What the heck did I just walk into?”
Fortunately, most of us ignored the complaining as we settled into the complacency of that we were there just to do our jobs. Nursing demands resilience, empathy, and an unwavering commitment to care, therefore, creating a culture of positivity could make a huge difference.
Enter the “no-complaining challenge”!
Positivity is not just a state of mind, it’s a transformative force. In this hectic and demanding healthcare environment a positive mindset can lead to remarkable changes in both personal well-being and patient care.
While, I am not a proponent of the HCAHPS scores, the reviews patients submit about the care they received, and do not believe that nurses should be graded on those scores, I do believe that a positive mindset can greatly improve a nurse’s well-being and thus the car rendered to their patients.
The no-complaining challenge is not about ignoring valid concerns or difficulties. It is about reframing them to the more empowering version and when problems arise, knowing how to approach them in a manner that can really make change.
A no-complaining mindset nurtures empathy, encourages nurses to understand and connect with the struggles of patients without dwelling excessively on their own tribulations. This connection fosters a deep sense of compassion and improves the provided care.
I suggest starting your day BIG (Begin in Gratitude). Wouldn’t you want to go to work in a place where you share one thing: that you are grateful to start out each day? Wouldn’t that be a more supportive, uplifting environment? It encourages mindful communication, gratitude practice and of solutions-oriented approach and a support network.
I suggest that you embark on the no-complaining challenge and implement it in your workplace because it would be a much better experience for you and your colleagues to start your shift.
Please give your thoughts and share them with us in the comments below. If you did embark on a no-complaining challenge, how was it?. Did your colleagues participate as well? How did it go? Do you feel better going to work?
Thanks.
