Casual Nurse Life - A Mission to Career Autonomy
My biggest pet peeve about being a casual nurse is that I am never quite sure if I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. I have had 2 casual jobs (4 if you count the two orientations that I did at BC Children's Hospital that I never picked up any shifts for) since I began my nursing career in 2008. My first casual position was on the inpatient acute psychiatric unit at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. I began in 2010, picked up my first shift in 2011, and only did that one shift before I decided that the level of anxiety that I felt walking into that shift was not worth me taking anymore. My second casual position, with Coast Mental Health in the concurrent disorders transitional housing, began in September 2011.
This position is not terribly anxiety-inducing, yet I still ask myself every shift, is this really all I'm supposed to be doing? Every shift I work I look around the tiny medication room that I find myself stuck in for 8 hours thinking there must be more duties than just giving out medications and I leave questioning whether I completed all the tasks that I was supposed to. By the time I get home I begin to think as long as everyone received their medications, no one was lost and no one died the shift must have been a success...and then I ask myself again, is that all I was supposed to be doing? I suppose the answer is "yes" as there seem to be much fewer responsibilities given to casual staff yet it seems a shame that my scope of practice and abilities are so much more.
Perhaps the lax atmosphere is in part due to the fact that this is a community transition program as well as the fact that this is a pilot project that did not get funding renewed thus since I have been hired that program has been winding down and steadily reducing the number of clients. I am okay with this because I have been pregnant, held a full-time position at another site, been a full-time graduate student, a part-time continuing education student, and a mommy the whole time I have worked here. Thank God this job has not been as challenging as any other nursing job that I have had because I needed the income and, though limited, appreciate the experience in community mental health and addictions. However, in some ways, I feel like my own lax attitude prevents me from aiding in moving health care practice at this site forward. But then again, I often wonder how many of my nursing peers ask themselves, what could I do to make not only my own practice but the practice within this health care setting better?
This position is not terribly anxiety-inducing, yet I still ask myself every shift, is this really all I'm supposed to be doing? Every shift I work I look around the tiny medication room that I find myself stuck in for 8 hours thinking there must be more duties than just giving out medications and I leave questioning whether I completed all the tasks that I was supposed to. By the time I get home I begin to think as long as everyone received their medications, no one was lost and no one died the shift must have been a success...and then I ask myself again, is that all I was supposed to be doing? I suppose the answer is "yes" as there seem to be much fewer responsibilities given to casual staff yet it seems a shame that my scope of practice and abilities are so much more.
Perhaps the lax atmosphere is in part due to the fact that this is a community transition program as well as the fact that this is a pilot project that did not get funding renewed thus since I have been hired that program has been winding down and steadily reducing the number of clients. I am okay with this because I have been pregnant, held a full-time position at another site, been a full-time graduate student, a part-time continuing education student, and a mommy the whole time I have worked here. Thank God this job has not been as challenging as any other nursing job that I have had because I needed the income and, though limited, appreciate the experience in community mental health and addictions. However, in some ways, I feel like my own lax attitude prevents me from aiding in moving health care practice at this site forward. But then again, I often wonder how many of my nursing peers ask themselves, what could I do to make not only my own practice but the practice within this health care setting better?
Too Much Work?
More and more I am finding that many of my nursing colleagues who are working full-time also have casual positions in another health authority. I know why I am working two jobs because I am the sole income provider for my family right now. I do not understand why my colleagues who are not sole income providers feel compelled to work so much, especially those who seem to not even enjoy nursing. Similarly, as someone who has worked in mental health and addictions for the entirety of their nursing career, I too often find myself questioning why do some nurses even chose these worksites as they clearly do not enjoy working with the population. Working in mental health and working in addictions take a special kind of nurse and working with a population challenged by mental health and addictions issues (I'm talking about inpatient concurrent disorders) takes an even more special kind of nurse. I would strongly discourage those who are just seeking full-time or permanent positions from working in this area as it is really not something that you grow to love, it's kind of something that you have to have an interest in, a population that you have to have empathy for and be prepared to help make the smallest baby steps forward even when there are sometimes 20 steps taken backward.
More and more I am finding that many of my nursing colleagues who are working full-time also have casual positions in another health authority. I know why I am working two jobs because I am the sole income provider for my family right now. I do not understand why my colleagues who are not sole income providers feel compelled to work so much, especially those who seem to not even enjoy nursing. Similarly, as someone who has worked in mental health and addictions for the entirety of their nursing career, I too often find myself questioning why do some nurses even chose these worksites as they clearly do not enjoy working with the population. Working in mental health and working in addictions take a special kind of nurse and working with a population challenged by mental health and addictions issues (I'm talking about inpatient concurrent disorders) takes an even more special kind of nurse. I would strongly discourage those who are just seeking full-time or permanent positions from working in this area as it is really not something that you grow to love, it's kind of something that you have to have an interest in, a population that you have to have empathy for and be prepared to help make the smallest baby steps forward even when there are sometimes 20 steps taken backward.
Challenges of the System
I find myself becoming increasingly frustrated by the complete lack of educational support provided for both newer graduates and those new to this specialized area. I also find myself increasingly frustrated when I meet colleagues that seem to have chosen this area of practice randomly without knowing or supporting the models of care being used (harm reduction, recovery, and psychosocial rehabilitation being the big ones). I find myself being increasingly frustrated when a colleague seems to have chosen this area of practice to manipulate, dominate, or because it seems easier than acute medical or surgical practice areas. Lastly, I find myself increasingly frustrated that I am not sure what my role is in improving this area of healthcare that is so near and dear to my heart.
The plan for the next year of maternity leave is to:
(1) learn how to bake; but equally as important,
(2) reflect on my own practice and how I can help improve my current workplace setting.
I find myself becoming increasingly frustrated by the complete lack of educational support provided for both newer graduates and those new to this specialized area. I also find myself increasingly frustrated when I meet colleagues that seem to have chosen this area of practice randomly without knowing or supporting the models of care being used (harm reduction, recovery, and psychosocial rehabilitation being the big ones). I find myself being increasingly frustrated when a colleague seems to have chosen this area of practice to manipulate, dominate, or because it seems easier than acute medical or surgical practice areas. Lastly, I find myself increasingly frustrated that I am not sure what my role is in improving this area of healthcare that is so near and dear to my heart.
The plan for the next year of maternity leave is to:
(1) learn how to bake; but equally as important,
(2) reflect on my own practice and how I can help improve my current workplace setting.
Love,
Michelle D.
Michelle D.
Comments