nursing career?

            After interviewing my mother, who has been a Labor and Delivery nurse for over 20 years, I feel that I have more insight into the importance and stress that comes along with a leadership position. What started off as a conversation regarding her leadership roles and resources quickly turned into the struggles of being a charge nurse and how to deal with such. She mentioned how even if she is assigned as charge nurse, she is not necessarily alone in her tasks. Resources like the nurse supervisor and director are not out of reach in which if she has questions or concerns, she can reach out to one of them. She also mentioned that if significant help is needed then she follows the chain of command which ultimately ends with the chief nursing officer. Moving forward from this topic, I asked my mother on days that she was charge, what were some common stressors or struggles she experienced. One that she emphasized was the employees who continuously called out sick. She went on to say that she understands people get sick, but some employees called out sick more frequently than most of the staff which made her frustrated at times. “The main priority is to make sure that our patients are safe which requires safe staff to patient ratios, if we do not have this because too many people call out or won’t stay late then that puts our patient’s more at risk for medical errors,” my mother said when discussing the struggles of being a leader on her unit. This really put into perspective for me the true stress of being a designated leader or charge in which you just want to do what is best for your patients, but the staff do not always see it in the same light. Going forward in the interview, she mentioned that she addressed some of these conflicts on her unit by simply talking things out and putting herself in their shoes. She noticed that talking through conflicts seemed to be the most effective method in which most people just want their side to be heard and understood. I carry the same values with my practice and in my everyday life in which I must’ve gotten it from my mother and will continue to do so in my practice. Lastly, I asked her how she managed her work and life balance. My mom said,” When I go to work, I give 100% to my job and I love my job, but the second I get home, I am at home and with my family”. I liked this response in which especially in such an emotionally and physically exhausting career, it is important to take time out of work to focus on things you love like family in which nursing should not be your entire life.  I absolutely plan to carry this value with me in my career because I feel that taking care of oneself is the most important part of being able to care for other human lives. This interview overall provided me more insight to my mother’s role of a charge nurse and her perspective leader. Formal or informal she works to inspire others every day at her job and continues to grow year after year as a registered nurse. As I finish my nursing education, I strive to be as great as a nurse and leader she is throughout my future nursing practice.