By constantly striving to be a great nurse, I believe we help not only our patients, but also our co-workers. No matter how busy I am, I always offer to help them. I truly enjoy helping. In fact, I look forward to helping everyone.
Working with a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1-6 (some places are 1-7 or 1-8) without an aide means we only have each other. During the season of Covid, times were rough and teamwork was crucial. Staffing was low, patient demand was high, and patients were very sick. Now that the pandemic is over, it seems fewer nurses feel that teamwork is still important. There are a lot of self-seeking nurses out there.
They’re easy to spot. They’re the ones who are not helpful, who don’t ask for help, and who are seen as inconsiderate. I consider these nurses to be lone wolves. They will not ask for help but will welcome help if it is offered. These nurses do not offer help to anyone, either. However, to be a great nurse, you must be willing to help. It is one of the core philosophies of nursing.
I have found that when you are a helpful person, people are willing to help you in return. So, I offer help to even the lone wolves. In time, they sometimes remember the help I gave them and become helpful to me.
At a facility where I worked, there was a self-seeking, lone-wolf nurse. Everyone complained about what a terrible nurse he was. The co-workers hated working with him because they felt he was lazy and egotistical. To top it off, he constantly told horrible jokes that people thought were more offensive than funny.
For instance, people would ask this lone wolf to help walk a patient back to bed, but he would always say he was too busy. Sometimes he would say yes, then not show up to help like he said he would. Other times, he would just pretend he was doing something very important so no one would bother asking him for help.
Nevertheless, again, I always offered to help the lone wolf. Even if I was busy or knew he would never help me, I found the time to ask him if he needed help with anything. I always believed in the quote by Babuschka Lorenz: “Helping is self-satisfaction and not expecting anything in return, a volunteer act.”
One day, after a few months of helping him, he actually offered to help me. To be honest, I never expected him to. I helped because I wanted to help. In nursing, as in life, to give with an expectation of reward makes the gift unwholesome.
Tip: Be helpful to everyone around you without looking for help in return. You are not only helping your co-workers, but also the patients.
