The Art of Being Nurse - Maintaining a Semblance of Work-Life Balance

The profession in North America as we know it today was borne in the time of the proliferation of the American Hospital System. Nurses were the hand-maidens of the physicians who assumed the top of the hierarchy in the system. That is our history. Accept it. Embrace it. Change it. 
 
The nursing profession in Canada is comprised largely of women. I am a woman. And this is my story. As the thoughts spill out of my head and come together as written words this is a cathartic process through which I am attempting to gain clarity of where I am in my career. And, make no mistake, nursing is a professional career that we work hard to build. Nurses are the heart of the healthcare system, and we are the brain. 

Geez Louise, I am on a roller coaster of a stretch of work. And, I feel exhausted. You may have similar sentiments if you have been an inpatient nurse for a number of years. All the days blend together, and the definition between night and day becomes a little less clear. 

There are two discernible days in the week for me: Weekday and Weekend. Shift work presents such challenges. What day is it? What month is it? And so I have begun to ask myself the question, am I the best me I can be right now? Is this what I want? 

Did I stop working shift work regularly in 2013 because I was out of control on accepting more and more shifts? Additionally, how is it possible that I am working all the time and we are still so far behind on our credit card bills? Are children actually super-expensive?

Love,

Michelle D.

P.S. the nighttime coughing of a 20-month-old is likely the most adorable sound I have heard in the last 24 hours.

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