It was several years ago that we wrote a blog on ‘Is Your Nursing Job Sparking Your Life? If Not It Should Be.’ Over the years we’ve had many nurses say that blog gave them pause – a chance to stop and reflect on their own nursing careers. Kari Schwartz, one nurse profiled, remains one of many sparked nurses on our growing team. But it wasn’t until she became a Life Care Manager that her view on nursing changed, or rather, re-inspired.
Lyn Lais, RN, Transitions Nurse for Lifespark, shares similar sentiments on Elizabeth Scala’s podcast, ‘Your Next Shift’ where she talks about the importance of taking a pause to explore your ‘why’ for going into nursing and rediscover that joy. It might be the role you are currently in that has you feeling burned out, it could be you are caught up in the minutiae of the paperwork and day-to-day actions that you forget to stop and realize all the lives you have sparked simply by doing your job. “Every day I have a success story,” said Lyn of her nursing career. “Nurses have so much opportunity within our profession – be confident and proud in the type of nurse you are.”
The goal of Elizabeth’s podcast is to educate and inspire nurses to the ‘whole spectrum of nursing that’s available to our nursing career growth.’ That’s true for both Kari and Lyn who started out in different nursing roles until they found their passion in whole person senior care. Lyn started her nursing career in acute care nursing but for the past 25+ years found her spark in the senior care industry.
We invite you to listen to this podcast and take pause on your own nursing career. Lyn’s wisdom to all nurses, whether new grads or seasoned professionals: as nurses we must have ‘patience, kindness, and scrappiness.’ If you love nursing but aren’t in the right role explore other options. The nursing role isn’t only applicable to the hospital setting, as Elizabeth pointed out, the opportunities are endless. “You need to do what fills your bucket in both your personal and professional life – and give them both 100%,” said Lyn.
As for the missing ‘a’ in Lifespark that Elizabeth mentions in the podcast, it was intentionally left out for two reasons – find out why!
How are you finding joy or a ‘spark’ in your nursing career? Share On!