Do you have a biased nurse’s soul?
I have sat with my thoughts on this post for quite awhile.
We find ourselves in a season of division that seems unprecedented. It isn’t, of course, but to us, as a nation, in this moment, it feels like it. We find ourselves in a time where intolerance of others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions is over-the-top. Intolerance that is generated by ignorance; and ignorance from fear.
A couple of months ago I posted a one-liner on social media “When did kindness become so revolutionary? When did we let hate get so ordinary?” (from the song Revolutionary by Josh Wilson). I was merely thinking about the state of things around me as a human/nurse; my thoughts were not political in any way. I was appalled at the responses I received from haters who turned my comment into a political open-fire. The rant I remember the most was from a nurse I had worked with briefly (she is a traveler). She took my comment and made it into a political statement. She went on to say that the reason there is so much hate is because of one leader and that she hates him and anyone that has voted for him and she went on and on about how hateful he is and how everything bad in this country and around the world is his fault. Hmmmm….
For a while now each side of the many issues has been acting like spoiled rotten children having tantrums until they get their own way. For four years we have had so much hate flying around while one side blames the other for their bad-behavior, no one is able to see that hate begets hate. For example, if you hate that your person did not win an election then you cannot see any good or benefit to the other person. You walk around for years with blinders on to any good that may come about because you have such hate in your heart. You are literally wearing hate-colored glasses and are looking at every aspect of your life through them. It’s appalling to me how divided we, as a nation, have become because of our close-mindedness.
This hate on a national level can be seen in our work as nurses. But I don’t believe it is new. I believe it has always been there; it has just had an opportunity to grow exponentially in the last four years. What do you feel and how do you let it cloud your nursing judgement? How do you take care of people of a different race/color than you are? What do you think about your LGBTQ patient? What about your handicapped patient? What about anyone who is different than you in any way? Do you have prejudice against the meth and ETOH addicts? AND here is the biggy, how do you feel about nurses from other units? (this is my personal struggle). Do you “hate” the ED nurse because they “ALWAYS” send your patient up with a blown IV, dirty Attends, and needing a 1:1 even though they were A&O X4 in the ED? Do you “hate” the ICU nurse because “all they do” is take care of machines and as soon as their patients are awake they ship them out? Do you “hate” the med-surge nurse because they don’t understand how critical nursing is done and they never have to deal with the stress you have to? Do you “hate” clinic nurses because they aren’t affected by any of the administration BS and they just “don’t get it?” Do you just HATE your job? Do you HATE taking care of other people? Do you HATE how the pandemic has brought all of the short-comings of healthcare to the forefront?
As we are in the midst of our continued political storm; and the pandemic continues to rage on, can we take a moment and look around and within and see what and why we hate. Why have we become so unsettled?
I believe social media’s slants and pushes have influenced a lot of things recently. I believe the immediate answer and reaction that our world expects and gets is partially to blame; however, I believe that things cannot grow within us, as a person, if the seed was not already there. Did we already have hate, mistrust, doubt, fear already in there? Of course we did. We are all human. What grows is what is fed. We also have seeds of love, trust, believing, and acceptance within; they just need. to be fed. Not just as nurses/CNA’s/RT’s/Dr’s/EVS workers/food service workers/Radiology/Lab, etc., but as humans. How do we feed our souls with goodness? Consume positive food- social media and people you surround yourself with.
As we continue through this season of unrest realize what your sphere of influence is. Is it your family? Your friends? Your co-workers? Your patients? Is the place where you have the most influence your kitchen? Where is the place that you are most influenced? By what are you most influenced? Do you have original thoughts in your head and feelings from your heart? OR are they all put there by others and allowed to grow into negative things that are manifested through your actions/thoughts/feelings?
Many people are hopeful that the end is near for the hatred and bigotry that has come to a head in our country. Let that be true. Not because a new political team is taking over but because we have had a change of heart. No real change can happen if hearts are not softened and people do not look inward at their own attitudes and beliefs. Blame is too easy. The way I act and feel is no one’s fault but my own. My behavior and attitude are the only two things I have control over.
Happy New Year. May 2021 be a year of professional and personal progress.