A new year often inspires us to think about fresh starts, new opportunities, and big changes. Some people use the clean calendar for the push they need to get them into a new or more satisfying career or role.
But if you like your job or aren’t quite ready to make a big change, there are ways you can make your old job seem new to you. It’s not always about your job duties, as it is the attitude you use to approach each day at work.
Here are a few ways you can make your old job feel like new.
Remember What Brought You to Nursing
What made you apply to nursing school in the first place? Try to revisit all the reasons you knew a nursing career was a good fit for you. Reflect on the positive experiences you have had that just affirm what you knew when you started on this path.
Recommit to Your Career
Vow to stop feeling lackadaisical about going into work. Take a new approach to decide that you will actively seek out experiences and opportunities that will make you a better nurse. Either change or make the best of the job duties you don’t love, but really enjoy the ones where you get the most satisfaction.
Treat Today as Your First Day
Imagine today is your first day on the job. What are you looking forward to? What do you like about the organization you work for? What are you unsure about or confident about? Asking all those questions can sometimes give your attitude a jolt.
Talk to Nursing Students
Students offer a lot of enthusiasm and energy for the job. Talking with them and hearing their thoughts, their new approaches to tasks, and their hopes for nursing’s future can inspire you in your own career path. They might show you a new way to do something or you might be motivated to even become a nurse activist.
Find Your Weakness
Be honest with yourself – what is your weakest nursing skill? If you can identify it (and everyone should be able to), then it’s time to fix it. We can all get better at something. Find what you can improve and do it. It will make you a better nurse and give you a confidence boost. And you’ll probably improve your work reputation, too.
You don’t have to change your job to make things feel different and new. Take the time and energy to bring a different approach to each day and you might be surprised at the long-lasting and positive results.
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Great points. These are all awesome tips to help prevent nurse burnout. I enjoy how you suggest remembering your “why”. I certainly teach that myself in my speaking/writing career. And I find that some have a hard time remembering their why (or maybe more importantly, what they want). I often suggest nurses and/or nursing students think about what they “don’t want”… and that will bring you closer to your “want” (or why… if you have happened to forget it…). I hope this helps! Sharing this post on social!!
Hi Elizabeth, Thanks for the thoughtful comment. That’s a great point for nurses to also think about what they don;t want. You are so right – sometimes it’s tough to remember what first inspired your nursing career, especially if you’ve gone through lots of changes. Thanks for sharing!