What Do I Get? Re-Framing the Art of Nursing

I think that sometimes mental health practitioners do expect something in return for the services that they offer, often in terms of verbal appreciation of the client, their family, other co-workers, and/or the organizations that we work for. We all want that "thank you," the pat on the back that indicates to us that we have done a good job, that we have made a difference. However, I think that, in my experience, as I develop my therapeutic skills as a mental health nurse the reward that I get in the care that I give is more intrinsic, in terms of me being satisfied by knowing that I have done that best that  I can do regardless of the outcome. I think that because the population of clients that I work with, in some of the areas of mental health services that I have worked in, there is a range of responses from clients from being appreciative of the service to being dissatisfied with the service provided.

I think that when we have conversations with our clients in a compassionate way we have the privilege of being part of our client’s experience and have an opportunity to walk with them on their journey regardless of where they are in terms of their stage of change. I think that as clinicians we also learn a lot about ourselves in our conversations with our client’s because it gives us to opportunity to explore our own values and beliefs and how they influence the way we interact with clients.