No doubt about it, nursing is an extremely demanding profession. Not only is it mentally demanding, but physically demanding as well. After a stressful 12 hour shift working out is the last thing a nurse may want to do because their body aches from a hard days’ work. Keeping healthy by working out is something all nurses know to do, but just don’t, either because of the long hours or the feeling of being hit by a Mack truck after their shift.
Incorporating a Pilates routine a few times a week can help decrease strain, strengthen muscles and prevent potential work-related injuries. Take these benefits of a regular Pilates routine into consideration:
No impact: This is a no-brainer when it comes to working out. As a nurse your body probably takes a pounding during an average shift. Your workouts shouldn’t cause more damage to your body than an average workday.
Pilates uses your own body weight as resistance for the workouts so you don’t have to worry about any jarring movements causing damage to your body.
Increased flexibility: Pilates incorporates many stretches that, over time, will increase your flexibility. Flexibility is important since nurses typically do lots of bending and stooping during their shift.
Strengthen core/improve posture: When you strengthen your core, your back is automatically stronger as well. Having a strong core and back helps nurses when you have a job that involves a lot of lifting and physically assisting patients. In addition, an improved posture gives makes you stand taller and gives an illusion of weight loss.
Tone: Although Pilates is a no impact workout it does allow for full body toning. Pilates makes one more aware of their body in general and the muscles used to carry out movements during a workout. Most all exercises in Pilates involve very slow and controlled movements meaning that you must also contract your core at all times. Small, slow, controlled movements can help tone your body in ways you would have never imagined.
Lose weight: In addition to all of the other awesome benefits you reap from Pilates, you can lose weight! Depending on which type of Pilates workout you do, you have the potential to burn massive calories. Pilates can be divided up in two basic types: ground work and machine (or Reformer) work. The workouts carried out on Reformers use pulley’s and springs to add more resistance to the already challenging workouts increasing the calorie burn factor.
In addition to working as a FNP, Nachole Johnson is a freelance copywriter and an author with her first book, You’re a Nurse and Want to Start Your Own Business? The Complete Guide, available on Amazon. Visit her ReNursing blog at www.renursing.com for more ideas on how to reinvent your career
If you’re like most people you loathe the word budget. It’s the equivalent of a four-letter word to some, but in many cases it’s a necessary evil to reach financial goals. Budgeting doesn’t have to be dreadful but can be easy!
Evaluate your finances: Take a good look at what you spent you spend your money on each month. Do you find you spend way too much dining out or maybe your cable bill is out of control? Those areas may be where you could carve out additional money to save.
Do you have a specific savings goal? If not, make sure you have at least 3-6 months living expenses set aside. Once you determine your monthly savings goals adjust your budget to meet them.
Auto-pay your recurrent monthly bills: The easiest way to budget is to set your recurrent monthly bills on auto-pay like your cable, phone, electricity, etc. Take analysis of these expenses and see if they are really necessary. Some of these expenses may be negotiable. Do you really need to spend $200 on Dish TV when you can get by with Netflix, Hulu or a Roku for a fraction of the price?
Put yourself on a “cash diet:” The third aspect of your budget should consist of a “cash diet” for your variable monthly expenses. Variable monthly expenses include grocery, clothing and entertainment.
Set aside a certain amount of cash for each expense and place it in an envelope. Spend only what is in the envelope on the allotted expense. When the envelope is empty, your spending is done for the month.
If you happen to have money left over at the end of the month roll that money over into the next month if you want extra money to spend in that area. You can even add the extra money to another envelope if you want. The point is to not increase your spending money by adding additional money outside of your budgeted envelope money. Say you have 4 envelopes divided into four different categories and the total money of all envelopes combined is $500 and you place $125 in each envelope at the beginning of the month. If you find at the end of the month you have an additional $25 in one envelope feel free to move it to another envelope you feel you need more money in.
If you tend to run out of money earlier in the month than you expected then you either need to scale back on your spending even more or allot for more money in that category.
Remember to pay yourself: After setting up the previous three aspects of your budget the saving part should be easy. Everything left over from your monthly bills should be placed in a savings account.
When you budget for a couple of months you’ll have an idea of how much you can comfortably save each month. As a matter of fact, make your monthly savings a “recurrent monthly bill.” Set your savings up on an auto-pay just like your bills.
Remember to continually look for ways to save more money through your budget. Maybe you could put your extra envelope money at the end of the month into your savings instead of another envelope? Make it a habit to follow these four steps and watch your savings grow!
In addition to working as a FNP, Nachole Johnson is a freelance copywriter and an author with her book, You’re a Nurse and Want to Start Your Own Business? The Complete Guide, available on Amazon. Visit her ReNursing blog at www.renursing.com for more ideas on how to reinvent your career
Have you been working for a company awhile but would like to move up the ladder or on to another unit? Career changers can often find opportunities within their current company instead of having to start afresh. When pros outweigh the cons changing careers within the system can be easier to carry out than starting new in a different company.
Benefits of taking an internal opportunity include knowing the company, continuation of benefits (health, dental, retirement), and already having friends and colleagues within the company. Cons vary depending on the situation but include potential limited income, colleagues not respecting your new position, and lack of upward mobility.
Employees are usually privy to internal openings not see by the general public. In addition, jobs may become available by word of mouth before they are posted. Typically internal applicants need only to apply for an internal transfer. Update your resume and make sure you are in good standing with your manager (no probation, licenses and certifications current, etc.) before doing so.
If you happen to know anyone in the department you want to transfer to, inquire about the position and get as much information as possible. Ask about the last person who was in the position you are applying to and why they left. In addition, get information on the expected duties if you can. This will give you some insight on what the job entails before you are interviewed.
Study the job description before your interview. You can typically find this information on the actual job listing and from your previous inquiries about the position from people who work in that department.
During the interview use some of the information you received earlier to your benefit. Don’t bring up negative aspects you may have heard, but instead focus on your strengths as related to the position. If during your investigation you found that the last person in that position had weak communication skills with others, play up how you are a great communicator.
The time after the interview is almost as important as the time spent prepping for it. At the end of your interview ask what to expect next. Some managers will give you a timeframe into which they want to fill the position. After the interview promptly follow-up with a thank you card or email thanking the interviewer for their time and consideration.
Lastly, make a phone call inquiring about the status of the position the following week. This gives you an idea whether or not you are still in the running for the position or if you need to start looking elsewhere outside of the company.
In addition to working as a FNP, Nachole Johnson is a freelance copywriter and an author with her first book, You’re a Nurse and Want to Start Your Own Business? The Complete Guide, available on Amazon. Visit her ReNursing blog at www.renursing.com for more ideas on how to reinvent your career.
Nursing can be physically taxing on the body, putting your health, and ultimately your finances in jeopardy. This can all be avoided by taking steps to being healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Every nurse needs to be healthy, wealthy, and wise to sustain a long, productive, and financially rewarding career.
How is this achieved?
Taking care of yourself: This means losing the extra 20 lbs you’re carrying by making healthier food choices and exercising. Taking care of yourself also includes cutting out bad habits such as smoking and binge drinking on the weekends. Getting enough sleep is also important and everyone should strive for at least 7 hours per night. Nurses are also notoriously known to not drink enough water when working. Drink up and aim for at least half your weight in ounces daily. Water helps aid in weight loss, flushes out toxins, and keeps you from getting UTI’s during those long shifts.
Saving for the future: Everyone, nurse or not, needs to have a savings account. There are many types of savings accounts, but for the sake of simplicity nurses need to have at least two. The first major account you need a retirement fund. Take full advantage of your employers company match if they have one…it’s free money! The second account you need is an emergency fund. Experts suggest having at least 3-6 months worth of living expenses in this account, but you can start with saving $1,000. If something unexpectedly comes up; ie: loss of employment, sickness, vehicle breakdown, ect, you will have the money and won’t be near as stressed due to finances if you didn’t have an emergency fund.
Education: Education is the key to getting ahead in life and in your career. I’m not necessarily talking formal education here, although formal education has its place. The type of education I’m talking about is the life-long learning that a nurse must do to keep up with advances in healthcare. Be proactive with your education and seek out new learning experiences that will make you a valuable asset to the healthcare team. If you’re in an environment and someone is offering to train you on a new skill…do it! More education may lead to more money for you in the long run, helping you meet your wealthy goal more quickly.
In addition to working as a FNP, Nachole Johnson is a freelance copywriter and an author with her first book, You’re a Nurse and Want to Start Your Own Business? The Complete Guide, available on Amazon. Visit her ReNursing blog at www.renursing.com for more ideas on how to reinvent your career.
Are you a nurse tired of the bedside grind, but would still love being a nurse? Are you worried that if you leave the bedside you won’t be fulfilled as a nurse?
If so, then consider a unique nursing job that is beyond the bedside that still fulfills you.
There is life beyond the bedside and really unique opportunities you can take advantage of as a nurse.
Here are 5 unique jobs you can pursue if you need a break from the bedside:
Infusion Therapy: An infusion therapy nurse can work in a hospital, clinic or home setting. Infusion therapy nurses deliver critical intravenous medications to patients in a comfortable setting. Infusions can include anything from chemo to standard IVF’s for dehydration. If a patient is not home bound, an infusion suite can be quite comfortable housing recliners, Wi-Fi, cable TV and private room settings.
Nurse consultant for an architectural firm: A nurse in an architectural firm? Sounds odd doesn’t it? Architects are realizing the value of having a nurse on the team when designing healthcare facilities. Nurses know first hand of where the nurse’s station needs to be within a unit and how a patient room needs to flow in order for a nurse to get their job done. If you enjoy designing and making workflows easier consider becoming a consultant for healthcare design.
Nurse Epidemiologist: If you like research and have an interest in infectious diseases then try a hand at becoming a nurse epidemiologist. Nurse epidemiologists can work for the CDC or local hospitals tracking disease trends. This position can be especially exciting in the fact that you may have to travel to study disease trends in different areas of the world. Nurse epidemiologists also do a great deal of teaching to physicians, fellow nurses, hospital staff and the public about disease prevention and control.
Cruise Ship nurse: Cruise ship nursing is a job that comes with a few perks. If you like autonomy mixed in with ER and critical care, then chances are you’ll like being a cruise ship nurse. Medical teams on ships can be slim with only 1 physician to 2 nurses per crew so nurses have to be able to handle any challenge that comes up. Illnesses ranging from MI’s, strokes, broken bones, and generalized seasickness can be the par for a normal day on the ship. Nurses in this position usually work on contract for a few months at a time.
Informatics: This position is more geared to the nurse that is computer or tech savvy, but still wants to put their nursing background to use. Informatics nurses help design the interface on the electronic health records (EHR) nurse’s use. A nursing background is key for this position because who knows best what a nurse needs to have access to or chart on other than another nurse?
In addition to working as a FNP, Nachole Johnson is a freelance copywriter and an author with her first book, You’re a Nurse and Want to Start Your Own Business? The Complete Guide, available on Amazon. Visit her ReNursing blog at www.renursing.com for more ideas on how to reinvent your career
