May is, for many nurses, the most wonderful month of the year. After all, this is the month where we celebrate a holiday that not everyone can appreciate — only those of us who have gone through or been close to someone who’s undergone a truly transformational experience; the sort of life journey that makes you really look at who you are, contemplating with shock changes you didn’t even know your body was capable of making.
I’m talking, of course, of National Fungal Infection Awareness Month! Here at the JNJ headquarters, we’re already decorated and stocked up for the non-stop round of parties that marks this special time of year. If we knew who’d founded this celebration, we’d absolutely invite him over — he’s likely a fun guy!
Yes, May means mirth and mirth means many things. Being willing to be surprised by the unexpected, to look at experiences from a different angle, to groan in company at a colleague’s bad puns - all of these are demonstrations of you being open to the joy and laughs the universe has to offer.
This openness is one of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal to help you care for you. Nurses are of course the ultimate caregiver — except in those ‘rare’ instances when the person needing care is the nurse! All too often, we’re ready, willing and able to put ourselves on the back burner because someone else needs us “MORE”.
What we forget is that leaving ourselves always on the back burner is a guaranteed way to burn out!
This month we’re taking a special look at how we can use humor to care for ourselves, particularly against the stresses, pressures, and unique challenges that nurses face. As resources dwindle and we’re asked to do more and more with less and less, we have to equip ourselves to successfully care for our patients — by caring for ourselves!
