A Healthy Work Culture Supports Self Care
How one nurse worked the float-pool at her hospital to do a vibe check of each floor before taking a full-time position
Welcome to Nurse Ascent, a twice-weekly newsletter created by nurses for nurses. This week, one nurse shares how a healthy culture on her unit positively shapes her work life. We also discuss reinforcements sent to the South Carolina measles outbreak, the surgeon general nomination hearing, as well as news of the world's tiniest pacemaker.
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Nurse Spotlight: Kati G. RN, BSN
What I do for work
I work in a progressive care unit that specializes in cardio-thoracic surgeries. We see a lot of patients following cardiac bypass, valve replacements, heart failure or arrhythmias.
How I got here
I currently work on the same floor I started on during nursing school. While in school, I got a job as a float pool nursing assistant for the whole hospital so I could feel out the vibe for every unit. The floor I liked the most had an opening for a clerk position that helped me get an my foot in the door to that floor by the time I graduated from nursing school. I always recommend to students to get a job at a hospital or department they might want to work at so they can get to know the team beforehand.
Headlines in Healthcare
Aid sent to South Carolina for measles outbreak
Twelve health ​experts are headed to South Carolina to help contain the largest measles outbreak in the US​ in 30 years. These experts were sent by "The CDC Foundation", an independent entity created by Congress to support the CDC through charitable contributions. It is reported that there are 973 measles cases as of Friday.
Surgeon general nominee hearing at the Senate
The Trump administration's s​urgeon general nominee, Dr. Casey Means, testified at a hearing before Senate committee ​this week. The wellness influencer, entrepreneur and author answered questions on public health topics such as her stance on vaccines, birth control. In her hearing, she sidestepped questions about the administration's controversial actions on vaccines and other issues.
World's smallest pacemaker
Igor Efimov, ​a professor of biomedical engineering and cardiology at Chicago’s Northwestern University, developed the first dissolvable pacemaker​ with his colleagues. The pacemaker is smaller than a grain of rice, can be implanted with small injection, and dissolves when it is no longer needed. The goal was to make a temporary pacemaker that was as small and fragile as its patient, especially babies born with congenital heart defects
More on Kati
A day in my life
I wake up at 5am drink coffee and make my lunch while I’m waking up. When I get to the unit I like to make jokes with my coworkers first thing because my floor has such a great work culture where everyone loves each other and we enjoy catching up and chatting during down time on the unit. As a bedside nurse, some days are overly stressful and some days feel pretty easy and that’s when we have the opportunity to help out coworkers when you’re not overly stressed. I know our job is so hard and that nobody outside of healthcare can understand what it is like. We have to have our brain on and bodies active for 12 hours straight while taking care of others before ourselves.
My self-care routine
When I come home, I change into comfortable clothes to foam roll and put my legs up the wall. I feel like it’s so important to take care of our legs after being on our feet all day long. While I do that, I do a 10-minute guided meditation and put some lavender oil on my sweater to smell and wind down after a long day. I’ve also been using eucalyptus shower steamers to help relax at the end of the day. I also think it is important to make your days off count rather than rot on the couch by putting an effect in to leave the house, see your loved ones and get your work out in to prioritize taking care of yourself on these days.
Share your story & be entered to win
As part of our effort to spotlight nurses, we’d love to feature you in an upcoming issue of Nurse Ascent! Share your story by filling out our quick interview form, and you’ll be entered into a raffle to win a $50 gift card.
Meet the author:
​Katie Scoggins
(RN, BSN & Health Writer)
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