A Lighter View

Commentary From the Editor

Our country is in a presidential election year and the campaigning seems to have been going on and on. It is everywhere and on every medium: the debating, the shaking of hands, the interviews and the reactions to what seem to be the accusations of the day. I am amazed at the candidates’ resilience. How do they hold up under such physical and emotional strain? How do they keep on going and going and going? And that brings me to my point: How do emergency nurses keep on going and going and going?

While you love the rush and the passion for emergency nursing, you probably don’t love the immense toll it takes on you, both physically and mentally. The stress. The lifting. The vomiting on your shoes. The crowding that causes tension for everyone, both patients and personnel. You fill in the blanks: violent patients, not enough beds, the mentally ill child who bites your arm.

I am reminded of a quote from actor Jack Wagner who said, “Reality is the leading cause of stress for those who are in touch with it.” Emergency nurses definitely are in touch with it.

ENA feels your pain. I feel your angst. To keep yourself going, you need to take care of yourself. Take a few minutes to stretch your muscles. And do the following: Click on the following link publications/Dateline_ENA/NationalENA/EN Rap_Craig Barton.wmv to view the very entertaining one-minute rap video created by ENA Member Craig Barton and other ED staff at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in response to a hospital-wide nurse recruitment content, which was shown at the 2007 ENA Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City. Or, click on this link on the following link publications/Dateline_ENA/NationalENA/Movie.mov to view the inspiring media clips (to download a free version of QuickTime to open this link, go to http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/) recently presented at Leadership Conference 2008 in Hawaii (Of course, just being in Hawaii would have relieved the strain.).

Just a few minutes of distraction, a good laugh or a peaceful moment alone will help you to keep going. The onslaught of patients will continue. The long hours will pile up. You will continue to do what you do best—take good care of patients.

The other day I read the “Cathy” comic strip in the Chicago Tribune. She was following diet recommendations: instead of three normal meals a day, she ate three smaller meals a day plus snacks; then she followed another recommendation of eating five small meals a day plus snacks. Finally, her mother asked if she exercised, and Cathy said, “Who has time?”

Make time for yourself every day, no matter how many meals you eat, or how many patients you have to restrain.