Linda - When God Closes a Door...

Linda -







I've had some difficult times in my career. I had been a nurse leader in a facility for almost 18 years when I lost my job. That was a hard thing for me, in part because I didn't realize how much of me was invested in my job, even though I was a mother and a wife too. Losing that identity for a while was a real eye-opener for me because I loved being a nurse leader. I was depressed for awhile.

The bright side was that it helped me see how much I truly loved being a nurse leader, and how much support I had. I heard from nurses and physicians in my organization who didn't want me to leave. I had the backing of my organization: the Northwest Organization of Nurse Executives. I was amazed at all the support I got. For example, the nurses in my facility made a memory book for me, where people could write their thoughts. A friend who read it said, "Most people have to die before they hear these things about themselves!"

It took me about four months to find another job, because my husband and I didn't want to move. One of the things that helped was a plaque a friend gave me, which I still have in my office. It says, "When God closes a door, he opens a window." I found out that there are wonderful people everywhere, and eventually I actually enjoyed the change. I met wonderful new people and learned exciting new things. Life keeps changing anyway, no matter what you do.

For instance, when I was a young nurse we knew we would have to work night shifts before we got assigned to day shifts. We had to dig in and work overtime and extra shifts before we could ask for anything different. Nowadays, the young people want to work when they want. Some of them ask for day shifts and time off as soon as they start the job. In some ways it's good that they're assertive. But in a hospital someone has to cover shifts around the clock.

Another change is the entry of immigrant nurses into the United States, because of the labor shortage here. A few years ago I went to the Philippines and arranged for 6 nurses to come to our facility to fill our staffing needs."One of the supreme roles of nursing is being a patient advocate." More than just being new nurses, they were new residents of our country, and in the beginning, they needed a little more attention, like all people who come to this country. Their needs opened up an opportunity for our community to welcome and share with them, even helping set up households by providing food and furniture, because they weren't able to bring much with them. It was remarkable to see how our community supported the new co-workers.

At first there was perhaps a bit of adjustment in our facility, but now the immigrant nurses are very well liked. In fact, they're inspiring, because they are hardworking and they're very good caregivers.

One of the things I've noticed is that the nurses from the Philippines are not quite as assertive as our nurses, but they learn to ask the right questions on behalf of the patients. That's a skill and it's one of the tough ones to learn. We're working with physicians who have many years of education, but sometimes we have to ask them the tough questions, even though we have less education. I think that's one of the supreme roles of nursing: being a patient advocate.

Some people try to define what nursing is; they say that it's a science-based profession. They think the care-giving part isn't important because they can't quantify it. But patients will remember the tender loving care they receive. To me, nursing is a truly heartfelt profession.

Power Strategies: Community, Influence, Devotion
go back to main page