How Changing the Way Nurses Treat Each Other Can Dramatically Improve Workplace Dynamic

As nurses sometimes all we have is each other, and we need to work to make sure our environment is beneficial and uplifting. Today we talk about how changing the way nurses treat each other can drastically improve the workplace dynamic!

I have a little bit of information for you today and I really feel this will be helpful. It’s about how changing the way nurses treat each other can drastically improve the workplace dynamic. It’s important that we treat each other very well. I’m saying it lightly but it’s not a light thing and I understand that.

So, you’re working and there’s a lot of stress, because we as nurses take on a lot of things from a lot of different directions at the same time.  Things are coming in. We’re getting calls from patients, family members, and doctors. We’re taking care of everything we have to take care of as health care professionals and making those things happen.

Trying our best to do a good job of it and delivering quality care. We’re taking those patients from illness towards wellness on the health continuum. That’s what we’re doing and it’s very important.

We have to know that every change that’s done, everything that happens at work, basically starts with us. When you start to look at other people, it’s hard to look at yourself and know that you’re on track and doing what you need to do.

You have to understand there are many persons involved in health care. Many persons involved in the day-to-day patient care. Positive change has to start somewhere.

A lot of times you’re dealing with another professional and that person is not so nice. That person may be doing something wrong. That person may be approaching you in a very ugly way. The only person that can change that pattern, the only person that can make this go differently, would be you.

You have to be the change you want to see. It has to start somewhere. Think about that. Take time to catch yourself in the middle of a crisis or in the middle of something that seems to be going in a bad direction. Look at all of it together.

Instead of lashing out at others and lashing out at your colleagues, take the time and calmly ask questions. Try to calmly work as a team. Answer others that are speaking to you as calmly as you can. So you’re not yelling at anyone. You’re asking questions, answering questions, and taking care of it but with a calmness.

Take a deep breath and slow it down. Say to yourself, “let me get in front of this. I’m a great nurse. I know what I’m doing. I do it well. Just because they’re upset, they’re not going to change my path. They’re not going to change what I’m doing and how I feel about me.”

Then hold your head up. Don’t walk around all frowned up. You can change things. How? By doing things differently. Why? Because it’s important that I make sure positive change starts somewhere.

Say, “I’m going to make sure this goes well. I’m going to make sure it starts different”. Talk with almost a smile on your face. Really regroup. “I was really angry a second ago no. I’m not going to work that way.”

You know who gets that? Who gets the brunt of our meanness and our mistreating each other? Our patients. That’s not our goal. We are only in this for the patients. We’re only in this to do the best we can. We’re only in this because we care. So we have to show we care because that’s who we are.

If that’s who we are, we’re going to work that way. It’s important that we start off that way. Sometimes you start your day with a great attitude and you were doing wonderfully, but then you got upset. You have to pull it back, pull it back, and pull it back again.

It has to start somewhere. In changing the dynamic of the workplace, imagine what it would be like if nurses work together. If we were really supporting each other as a team. With all our colleagues around us and with all that knowledge all of us have.

We could take our different levels of expertise and what makes us unique, even if working in the same area, we can provide what we each need. Maybe you do something, like talking to patients and families, well and someone else doesn’t like to do that. You can talk to someone for them.

If they do something a little better than you, they can do it for you. Play to each other’s strengths. Find out what you’re best at as a team . Ask yourself, “what we can do to make it easier?”

If not then we’re in there fighting, making it hard and it’s just a struggle. Then we feel like we hate our jobs and want to get out. We want to go do something else because nursing is so bad. Nursing is great, but we have to remember that’s because we’re great.

We have to remember that we ARE nursing. It’s us. We make the profession. In doing so we start to think about it differently. Let’s think about each other differently. Let’s think about what we’re bringing to the table and how we bring it. And let’s bring it!

We have so much quality. We have so much knowledge. Let’s bring it all together and let’s bring it to our patients as a team. We don’t have to work these six or seven or four patients as “mine” and “yours”.

They may be mine, but you’re part of my team. Because you work next to me you’re part of my team. Because you work in my unit you’re part of my team. Because you work in this hospital or this facility or for this home health agency, we’re all a team.

Let’s figure out how we can make this work out great for each other, so we can make it great for our patients.

And if you need a little extra motivation and a reminder of all the amazing things that you are absolutely capable of, download my free 3 Week Mood Booster. It’s in the sidebar and at the bottom of this page. You’ll get 21 days of motivation and affirmations designed specifically for healthcare professionals just like you straight to your inbox.