Blog 5 Nurse Reads 5 Of Motherhood and Nursing

Of Motherhood and Nursing

by | May 13, 2018 | Nurse Reads | 0 comments

mom day

Breakfast in bed has been served, the fresh bouquet of roses is sitting pretty on your nightstand, the kids have all scampered off, and you’re lost in thought…. Perhaps it’s time to pursue a career. After all, the kids are only getting older, you’ve got more free time on your hands, and there’s that ever growing itch; to accomplish and make a difference in the world. But what to do? The adjustment of going back to school is a difficult one and despite the fact that the kids are no longer as demanding as they once were, you still have responsibilities at home. But here’s the thing. There’s actually a job out there in which all the qualities you’ve honed as a parent, are precisely the qualities you need to succeed in this particular field. Yes, I’m talking about nursing. Sure, motherhood and nursing are each considered to be one of the most thankless jobs in the world, but as you already know with motherhood, they are each infinitely rewarding. So in honor of Mother’s Day, and all those fabulous Mamas the world over, let’s take a peek at just how similar these two ‘careers’ are, and hopefully the nursing world will gain another incredible member.

Communication Skills

Mom World:
Whether you’re aware of it or not, you are constantly communicating with your child and on behalf of your child. Any interaction you have with your child is a form of communication, and any interaction you have with your child’s teacher, doctor, friend etc. is communication as well. And not only are you constantly communicating, but communication is such an intrinsic part of your life that you don’t even realize that you adjust your communication style and tactic depending on who you’re communicating with. Now that’s a master communicator!

Nurse World:
Communication is key when it comes to caring for a patient. Not only must you communicate well with the patient himself, but there are also family members to communicate with, as well as doctors and colleagues. Strong communication skills are particularly essential when you’re faced with upset or scared patients and family members.

Planning

Mom World:
Before motherhood, you were able to go anywhere and do anything on a whim. Now? Ha! Nothing happens without extensive planning! And when I say nothing, I mean NOTHING. A trip to the local mall, a weeklong vacation, and even tomorrow’s meals, all get planned to the T.

Nurse World:
Planning allows you to focus and provide your patient with optimal care. Taking vital signs, administering medication, sterilizing equipment… These are tasks you’ll be assigned with as a nurse. Try to do it all at once, and you’ll fail. Plan and prioritize, and you’ll succeed. In many cases nurses are also tasked with writing up medical plans for their patients to follow upon release from the hospital.

Teamwork

Mom World:
In a mom’s world, the family is the team. Everyone needs to know their position and place, as well as when it’s appropriate for them to speak up or take a step back. Oftentimes, you have to compromise, or ‘choose your battles.’ If you’re working as a team, though, you can get through any rough patch pretty easily.

Nurse World:
Nurses generally work in teams. Knowing when to speak up, when to stand your ground, as well as when to back off a bit and compromise on certain issues will make you a very strong team member. In fact, chances are your colleagues will look up to you as a team leader.

Supervision

Mom World:
Every mom has dealt with the terrible two’s. Which means you know exactly the kind of supervisory skills necessary to keep your troublemaker out of harm’s way.

Nurse World:
Patients need constant supervision. They’re obviously not eating grass or teetering at the top of a flight of stairs as your child was once prone to do, but patients do need to be monitored for side effects to treatment, or changes in symptoms etc.

Critical Thinking

Mom World:
Motherhood isn’t easy sailing. You’re constantly making decisions and oftentimes it’s a tough call. And whether it involves schooling, medical issues, social issues etc., you just hope and pray you’ve made the right decision.

Nurse World:
There’s no slacking off in the world of nursing. There’s diagnostic testing, analyzing results, and designing care plans. And then of course there are the split second decisions that have to be made in times of crisis which really require that you’re mind be as sharp as possible. People’s lives depend on it.

Bottom line is, nursing isn’t all that different than motherhood. If you’ve tackled one you’ll be a natural at the other! Happy Mother’s Day to all you beautiful moms out there and I hope this will make your decision to foray back into the world of schooling, a whole lot easier!

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