We all have an ego which serves the purpose of keeping us safe.  One thing it does in protecting us is it causes us to judge others which then makes us feel better.

Now you’ve got it.  The biggest poison in nursing is judgement.

We, as nurses, don’t even realize how judgmental we are.  Even though in nursing school we are taught to have a non-judgmental approach toward our patients, we still have that little voice in our head that says things like: “Oh, they are so whiny” or “That patient really needs too much pain medication.”

Sometimes we cover our judgments under the guise of our professional opinion.  But this is a trick of the ego.  We judge patients and even each other mercilessly.  The nurse says, “I took over her care, she’s so lazy, she never does ____.”  “My charge nurse is so mean and gives me the worst assignments.”  And our judgments go on and on and on.

Judgments cause wars, judgments cause disagreements in relationships and judgments cause heartache and discontent.

And then there’s that sad part, we never know why a person behaves in a certain way.  Maybe they are abused at home or have lost a family member or pet.

While judgments are part of the ego, they do not serve us.  The first step is to recognize the judgments that you have without judgment of yourself.  The second step is to release the judgment by asking yourself is it really the truth or is this just a judgment.  The third step is to send the person love.  They are a person just like you with hopes, fears, dreams and problems.  The last step is to forgive.  Don’t just forgive the person that you judged but forgive yourself for judging.  After all, we are all human.

This may sound esoteric but give it a try with an open mind.  When you are in control of your judgment and replace it with more positive thoughts, you will be much happier and I would not be surprised if your patients, co workers and family notice it.

What are your thoughts about judgment?  What techniques do you have to deal with judgment?

Are you required to do mandatory overtime at your hospital?  In Ohio, lawmakers are trying to ban mandatory overtime as a condition of employment.  Nurses are very scared that if they say “no” to mandatory overtime that they will be fired.

Due to the nursing shortage, hospitals feel they have no choice but to have nurses work longer hours to cover more shifts.  But, unfortunately, this creates a danger to the patients and to those who care for them because the nurses will be exhausted.  Interestingly, Ohio was the state where a nurse was killed in an auto accident when she fell asleep at the wheel after working mandatory overtime.  Her husband filed a lawsuit against the hospital.

It is sad that laws need to be put into place to make sure nurses are not working unusually long shifts.  Laws are in place that limit work hours for airline pilots, truck drivers and others.  Nursing should be one of those professions with limited work hours.

Minimum mandatory staffing would go a long way, however, under such a directive, hospitals may require having nurses work over to fill that minimum requirement.

Minimum staffing requirements were recommended to improve patient care but, if nurses are working longer hours to fulfill that minimum mandatory requirement, then that is not helping patients because the nurse will become exhausted.

Measures need to be taken to have an on-call system or other protections in place so that adequate staffing is maintained but not at the expense of nurses working mandatory overtime.

What are your thoughts?  Does your hospital have mandatory overtime?  Please let me read your thoughts in the comments below.