Jennifer Rock|Photos by Leah Huebner
Starlet and ER registered nurse Jennifer Rock shares just how small acts of care, team effort, and individual regimens help registered nurses remain grounded and reliable.
Can you share a moment from your occupation that advised you why you selected nursing?
I had a doctor once tell me, “If you can really touch a single person a shift, it’s been extremely successful, and that’s an excellent change.” As a nurse, you’re always hurrying around; it’s really fast-paced, especially in the emergency room, so it has to do with the minutes of tranquility with somebody who simply requires convenience or somebody to look after them. Whether it’s an older individual that does not have anyone and simply wants to talk, or if it’s somebody who’s actually frightened, you can just try to make time, stop a little, and resemble, “Hey, you’re alright. You remain in the very best feasible place, and we’ve obtained you.” It’s those moments of being a feeling of assurance for a person in a time of uncertainty that advise me why I do what I do.
What’s one item of modern technology or tools that’s made your work as a registered nurse much more reliable or effective?
That’s a great question. An excellent item of innovation that has made nursing a lot more effective is, I hate to claim, the PureWick. We have a great deal of non-ambulatory patients, so the PureWick, a condom catheter, assists individuals remain even more comfy without utilizing something like a bedpan, which can really feel sort of undermining or awkward or create bedsores. Also, points like ultrasound devices for hard-stick IVs. Those are video game changers. Also, upgraded charting systems. Having excellent shorthand to be able to chart efficiently and return to one-on-one person care is wonderful.
Has there been a time when solid interaction, with either a patient or colleague, made a large difference in your day?
I didn’t anticipate that there would be many parallels in between acting and nursing, however among my favorite aspects of both is the partnership.
Whenever I have a nurse that’s in my group– whether they enter when I’m embeded one more space with a client or I do the exact same for them– it’s that shorthand of seeing that a nurse has a need and teaming up. We’re all on the same group. We’re all attempting to achieve the very same point– much better patient outcomes. When I have a registered nurse that, without me also asking, will certainly enter and assist me with the patient, that makes me feel like we’re all collaborating on this together for a common goal. That’s something that simply implies the globe to me– when registered nurses will help each other out.
What advice would you offer to a registered nurse that’s feeling overwhelmed or underappreciated right now?
Concentrate on what you can manage. I’ll be very straightforward. For me, I know in some cases, specifically in the earlier years, I would certainly get really upset at points that were really out of my control. Whether it was concerns with the medical care system, or the means the system was established and failing, I would find myself getting very angry and dissuaded. What’s helped me is to focus on things that I can control. Yes, they may be on a smaller scale, yet I can control exactly how I reply to negative thoughts at the office or positivity at work. I can regulate exactly how I talk to clients. I can manage what I let in and what I don’t. Especially in an emergency room atmosphere, or any kind of health care bedside setting, there can be a great deal of negative thoughts, sadly, and it’s within your control what you let in.
I’ll be sincere: Some days I win, and some days I lose and allow things in, without a doubt. There are changes I finished where I was like, “Alright, this shift defeat me.” But I attempt to make it so I am in control of just how I respond to the healthcare sector, and to understand that it’s all an option. Although some days it’s harder than others.
What day-to-day practices or small regimens aid you remain based and really feel good during lengthy or demanding changes?
Obtaining outside, to be straightforward. Time stands still when you’re on a 12 -hour change, so I take time if I can– and not every change permits it– but when I can, I carve out time to just get outside, obtain some vitamin D, and consider some nature. It’s something to remind you that the whole world isn’t those fluorescent lights. It’s just kind of reconnecting with life outside of the hospital.