Nurse Empowerment
Nurse Empowerment
When you think about empowerment, what comes to mind?
Do you consider the fact that you can be empowered as a nurse?
What does that mean exactly?
What would empowerment in nursing examples even be?
The simplest definition of empowerment in the dictionary is:
“to be given the right, the power, the authority to do”
As nurses, many times we feel trapped in the healthcare system with our hands tied. Feeling things won’t get better until healthcare as a whole improves.
Some of us have a constant inner battle: loving the patients and aspects of nursing but hating the politics, the staffing, the unappreciation, and wonder if you should leave bedside, or nursing, or even healthcare altogether to have happier, healthier lives.
Unfortunately when it comes to empowerment in nursing, it’s usually hooked to something outside of our control. It’s tied to the hospital or organization you work for, the management of that team, staffing ratios, etc.
Don’t get me wrong, these are important.
But…
This type of thinking is where the problem is and why so many nurses feel defeated!
Let’s start with how empowerment in nursing is defined and you’ll be able to see the big, obvious, missing piece.
Hi I’m Christen
I was just a tired, exhausted, burned out nurse dreading work and imaging what I could do instead of nursing. It affected me professionally AND personally!
Now I help nurses struggling or wanting to prevent the struggle using the same strategies and tools I used to create a happier, healthier life.
Get your free 5 minute visualization to decrease your stress, increase your peace, and sleep better tonight….naturally!
Nurse Empowerment Definition
Nurse Empowerment Definition
There are several variations of empowerment in nursing. Unfortunately most are in reference to organizational empowerment and making sure leadership is on board.
Even nursing journals such as Nursing Management state empowerment requires leadership support. The CNO of Medline Industries Martie Moore also states “nurse empowerment largely hinges on the infrastructure and communication design of an organization.”
As of the date of this blog post, the American Nurses Association doesn’t have a nurse empowerment definition on their website (that I was able to find). Nurse empowerment falls under structural empowerment on the ANA website, which is an aspect of organizational Magnet status.
Even Nursing Made Incredibly Easy….(the title of that makes me laugh everytime I see it) begins their definition of nurse empowerment with “when organizations….”
Definitions like those are confusing because it tells individuals, we want you empowered but only in ways we think are okay. Empowerment is encouraged, but only when you have leadership supporting you.
That’s the opposite of empowered.
That type of empowerment is referring to structure within an organization.
When you’re looking for a job, this is important and you want your employer to have that quality. You want to work for an organization that supports empowerment in nursing and nursing leadership.
Magnet status is an indicator of this.
For nurses to be truly empowered, structural empowerment isn’t enough.
You’ve got to have the personal empowerment piece. Psychological and personal empowerment are the missing pieces in all these definitions!
Some organizations don’t feel they need to take ownership of any individual’s personal empowerment.
EAP programs simply aren’t enough to support personal empowerment because they’re temporary in nature. Not to mention the dynamics that can exist between nurse and employer.
We also have a scope of practice we need to work within. Empowered doesn’t mean doing whatever you want, whenever you want.
That being said….we forget as individuals we don’t need an organization to be or live empowered.
The truth is, you don’t need any organizational or leadership permission to be an empowered person.
The best part is…
Since life isn’t lived in boxes, when you’re empowered in one aspect of life, it ripples into others.
When you’re an empowered person, that effects your nurselife. The empowerment switch doesn’t shut off just because you put scrubs on!
It’s not dependent on any one organization, what the status of the healthcare system is, staffing ratios, etc.
It comes from within and you can take it anywhere you go.
No one can take your empowerment from you!
The best definition of empowerment in nursing I’ve been able to find so far was in the International Journal of Advances in Nursing Management. Dr. Radhakrishnan and Dr. S. Anuchithra’s nurse empowerment definition is “the ability to effectively motivate and mobilize self and others to accomplish positive outcomes in nursing practice and work environment.”
That’s a great definition because it doesn’t rely on someone/something else. It doesn’t require permission.
It begins within through self motivation and supporting others. We know how important it is to move toward encouraging our young instead of eating them.
The steps to true, lasting empowerment as a whole person and being able to be that awesome colleague everyone loves working for/with begins with yourself.
Nurse empowerment begins with personal empowerment which is where I come in!
Personal empowerment is my jam!
I believe to be a truly empowered nurse you have to be an empowered person.
But…
what is Personal Empowerment?
Ready to jumpstart your empowerment journey? Contact me here!
Personal Empowerment
Personal Empowerment
Why hire me?
I’m a certified Master Empowerment Coach and trained breathworker.
Blending empowerment coaching with breathwork can be both powerful and life changing.
I think of personal empowerment as reconnecting with your confident, calm, and energized self moving through life toward what you want with clarity and peace, free from guilt.
Empowerment coaching is great because it’s not about calling you to make sure you crossed an item off your list or cleaned your cupboards out.
Women’s empowerment coaching and breathwork go deeper. It’s about helping you move forward to achieve what you want so you can decide if it’s time to cross an item off your list or clean out the cupboards.
One of the scales I love is the Map of Consciousness by Dr. David Hawkins in his book: Power vs. Force.
You can see by the scale in the picture above, the lowest emotion is Shame and it works it’s way up to Enlightenment.
How does this work in nursing?
Nurse Empowerment Example
If you have a nurse that’s walking around burned out (Apathy on the scale), feeling constantly guilt-ridden, and/or hating nurselife but is also trying to figure out the next best step like a career change, leaving a relationship, or going back to school can become very overwhelming to think about.
These same nurses then turn around and chastise themselves for things like: current weight struggle, being lazy, indecisive, and/or being too needy when they make reasonable requests in a relationship.
Nurses living in apathy or guilt find it hard to do things like:
get off the couch
get enough sleep (or maybe they sleep too much)
make decisions that seem like they should be simple
This becomes a hamster wheel and they get stuck.
The truth is:
It’s incredibly difficult to make a big decision like leaving a relationship or changing careers when you’re so low on the scale.
When you’re able to focus on yourself and move up the scale those decisions become easier and you gain different perspectives.
The higher on the scale you are, the less overwhelming decisions and even aspects of life becomes.
You’re intelligent and can manage your life but sometimes things gets overwhelming, you forget who you really are, and you start to feel small compared to big decisions surrounding you.
It’s easy to get stuck. That’s where an expert like me can come in to help!
Another reason empowerment coaching is perfect for nurses is because it works in the area most nurses try to avoid….your emotions (stay with me! I promise it’s scarier in your mind that it really is).
Here’s what this doesn’t mean…
you’re weak
you can’t handle it
you have to be a crying mess
there’s something wrong with you
nursing is the wrong profession for you
…and whatever else you may tell yourself.
Look, if we’re all being honest, we’ve all had those days we’re trying not to break down at the nurse’s station because of things like a code, an angry doctor, or a bully you hate working with.
In fact, I remember working with a nurse who was busting her ass and a patient was yelling at her for no reason. She was one of those nurses you wanted working if you were sick.
She sat at the desk, charting, red cheeks, trying to hold back the tears slowly sliding down her face.
I whisper to her “are you okay?” Her response? “I’m not weak.”
Who said anything about being weak?!
It doesn’t have to be this way…
I work with so many nurses who are incredible people…..but forget.
They get lost in who healthcare or even others say they have to be.
I can help you re-connect with who you were born to be. Who you really are!
You may buy your favorite Brene Brown book and listen to her talk about vulnerability but then chastise yourself when the vulnerable moments come.
Personal empowerment is what it sounds like. You’re giving yourself permission, the right, the power, the authority to do.
You may think…to do what?
In that moment, that nurse needed to go to the bathroom (there was time for a bathroom break in this case) and give herself permission to let it out. Dry her face, take a deep breath, and finish her shift.
Giving yourself permission isn’t weakness, it’s strength.
It takes a strong person to move through something.
It’s easy to hold everything in, do what you’ve always done, and stay miserable while you scroll through other jobs or careers. You’ll be surprised how many times doing things like this causes nurses to get in their own way and not even realize it!
Focusing on yourself sounds selfish, but it’s necessary to refuel your tank. The more you’re able to do this, the easier decisions and clarity come.
Think of it this way…
The greatest athletes in the world use coaches. Not because they’re untalented or weak, but to up their game, learn new techniques, and gain further insight among many other reasons.
Now, what exactly is a personally empowered nurse?
Empowered Nurse
Empowered Nurse
My current definition of a personally empowered nurse is a calm, confident, self-assured person who demonstrates emotional intelligence, work-life balance, a positive mindset, and uplifts others because they uplift themselves.
This person happens to be a nurse.
Empowerment starts from within.
Empowerment doesn’t come with a degree or a position someone holds.
The Journal of Nursing Management continued to say regarding nurse empowerment, it’s “inclusive, non-authoritarian, visionary, and emotionally intelligent.”
Empowerment coaching involves emotions. Managing yourself and your emotions will allow you to better deal with others and their emotions that may arise.
Emotional intelligence for nurses begins with acknowledging emotions exist.
You can’t ignore something, not talk about something, and then expect to become intelligent in it.
Acknowledgement is the first step so you can learn what the next best steps are.
I can help with this!
If you have questions on what starting a personal empowerment journey looks like or want to know more, contact me here!
Empowerment in nursing is structural within an organization, but the foundation of empowerment is personal.
You need both for effective empowerment in nursing
In 5 minutes you can…
Feel balanced and at peace by turning off overthinking and 2nd guessing yourself so you can increase your confidence and feel like yourself again.
Decrease stress and anxiety by using the very same tool I did so you can finally stop tossing and turning and get some good sleep tonight….naturally!
Practice 1 secret to improving boundaries and decreasing burnout: letting go of what isn’t yours to carry so you can decrease overwhelm and protect your space.
I was just a bedside nurse, exhausted, stuck, and feeling dead inside. Dreading both home and work I dreamed of having a life that I loved. After turning that dream into reality, I now help women connect with their inner power and step into their dynamic, authentic self to create a life they love.
I made a promise to myself at 30 that each year would be better than the last…..and I’ve been able to keep that promise!