Helping Nurses "Live Smarter Not Harder" by Balancing the Mind, Body, Soul and Spirit

Archive for the ‘education organizations documentation’ Category

Live Interview With Naomi D. Jones and Janine Kelbach

Entrepreneurship makes the world go around.  Technology that produced the computer

naomi
Naomi D. Jones. RN, MS, CRNI

changed the way we live and do business because of entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs.

Healthcare has evolved through entrepreneurs like Florence Nightingale who started the first nursing school and Lillian Wald who founded the Henry Street Settlement and Visiting Nurse Service of New York.

Entrepreneurs see a need and then use vision , resources and passion to fill that void.

Nurses are becoming entrepreneurs at an astounding rate and they are not only helping people, they are making money!
Here is an interview that I did with Janine Kelbach owner of WriteRN writing services and blogger for The Six Figure Nurse.  Here’s a glimpse into my journey as an entrepreneur.. …

 

What is the name of your company?

Consults Unlimited Inc. but I am known as the Life Coach RN

What exactly does your company do?

I provide coaching, mentoring, books and speaking presentations for Nursing Leaders. My goal is to help nurses who are in leadership balance their life purpose and their career. I teach nurses self-development principles and how to align their mind, body, soul and spirit so they will become better leaders of themselves and become more effective in leading others. When you understand and embrace yourself and your journey in life, you can attain fulfillment and joy while working in the profession as a nursing leader.

Why did you start this company?

The first reason for starting my own business is that being a nurse for over 35 years, I have had the opportunity to work with ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ types of nursing leaders. The ones who were ‘good’ helped me grow in my career as a nurse, a woman and as a human being. Even though nursing is a caring profession, we often are not good to each other. Take the phrase ‘Nurses eat their Young’. I wanted to change that. I wanted to create a culture of compassion and kindness for the nurse who is on the front line of providing healthcare to the world. When the opportunity arose for me to step up to a leadership position, I made a conscious decision to do my best to positively impact my staff and my peers. During my 20 years as a nursing leader I was able to develop skills and strategies that not only made me successful in this endeavor but it allowed me to help other nursing leaders realize they could have the same results. I want to continue to make an impact and that’s why I decided to work with nursing leaders in this area as a business.  Read More. 

 

Top 5 Ways to Reach Our Goals

TOP 5 WAYS Bullseye

TO QUICKLY REACH YOUR GOALS

SUCCESSFULLY AS A NURSING LEADER.

By Naomi D. Jones – The Life Coach RN

goals settingWe all have goals, both personal and professional yet so many go unrealized.  Why? Because we don’t have a systematic, foolproof way to set or meet our goals.   At times, lack of proven strategies affect the way we manage as nursing leaders.

Here are your 5 sure fire tips to define and reach your goals successfully and in a timely manner.  This systematic approach will answer the big questions Who, What, When, Why and How can you plan and reach your goals consistently.

  1. Who – The number 1 way to reach your goals is to build an awareness of who you are. What influences your choices and decisions? It is your intellect, emotions, experiences and spirituality.

DirectionYou are a unique and complex human being.  You can only make appropriate goals for yourself when you understand what makes you tick.

  1. What do you want? We all want a lot of things for a lot of different reasons. What you really want is satisfaction and fulfillment. Being aware of who you are will absolutely guide you in your ability to accurately plan for what will make you “happy.”
  1. DreamsWhen – Right Now! Don’t procrastinate. Procrastination is a stealer of dreams and a saboteur of accomplishing goals.  Don’t allow it to hold you back from doing what you need to do today. It’s all about renewing our commitment to ourselves!
  1. Why –Your very existence means you are part of a bigger plan. When you Excited Young Female Doctoroperate within your purpose in life, you will feel the joy because you will be setting, meeting and fulfilling your goals and your purpose for being here.  Jeremiah 29:11 ‘He knows the plans He has for you’.
  1. How – The secret strategy to reaching your goals is really found in personal development. Tapping into your personal power is the long lasting motivation you need.   Personal power is enhanced by two things: focus and connection.

Focus1Develop Focus Distraction is easy to come by in this day and time.  Cell phones, computers, social media and TV, just to name a few.  You have to prioritize and focus. One acronym for focus is Follow One Course Until Successful’.

Connect with like-minded people.   There are plenty of nay-sayers and sometimes they live within your own head.  Surrounding yourself with the people, activities and time to support you, will help you successfully reach your goals in record time and will relieve some of the burden in getting there.

PartnerAs a Life Coach, I am all about your success!  With over 35 years in nursing and 20 of those years in management, I have found the secret to enjoying my life and career.  I want to share those secrets with you.

If you are ‘sick and tired’ of being ‘sick and tired’ of not reaching your goals or not having a sense of joy and fulfillment about your life and/ or career, get in touch with me for a free 30-minute ‘Personal Power’ consultation. Use the link below to schedule your session.

Free Consultation*

I look forward to talking with you.  Here’s to your success!

Logo1Naomi D. Jones MS, RN, CRNI is a Registered Nurse, Certified Life Coach, Mentor, Author and Inspirational Speaker.

www.LifeCoachRN.com

Mindset: The Key to Creating Balance

How do nurses create change, develop balance and relieve stress?

by Naomi D. Jones RN, MS, CRNI

scales-311504_1280Are nursing leadership and work life balance contradictory terms? Many nurses are wondering if this idea of a balanced life is fact or fiction. Many organizations state they promote “work life balance” as a recruiting tool. When speaking to those same nursing leaders, the feeling of balance seems to be elusive.  I had a great conversation this week with a fellow nurse friend of mine about how we attain equilibrium in our lives as nurse leaders. What became very clear early in our conversation is that managing our careers is difficult to say the least.  There are so many things you have to coordinate i.e. yourself, your staff, (direct and indirect reports), co-workers, your upper management team and don’t forget the work itself!   Then we have a “Life” that also needs management. Relationships with spouses, partners, children, grandchildren and parents pose their own challenges.  Handling personal finances is another factor where achieving balance necessitates confrontation.  In today’s economy, so many nurses I know work more than one job.  Nurses in management may experience some limits since they are salaried and already work long hours.

Balance vs Imbalance

In all of these arenas, balance is the key to having a great life!  If we don’t balance all of these areas well, we may become discouraged and lose our passion and joy in what we do which leads to burnout.

Burnout is the result of imbalance.  Frustration, disappointment and stress are encompassing nursing leaders in homecare, at the bedside and behind the desk (depending on where you work). Expectations of higher productivity, increasing demands to do more with less, the squeeze between staff and company goals intensifies the stress nurses feel. That stress makes for short tempers which can lead to episodes of disrespect and bullying which plague our profession.

Create Change

How do we create change in our lives, develop balance and relieve the stress from these situations?  Read More…

Living Smarter not Harder in 2012. – How you can create a more positive work place.

There are several techniques to keep yourself “happy” at work.   I will share my 3 top tips in this area but before I do, we have to discuss “happiness”. First let me tell you that happiness is relevant.  It is dependent on so many external influences.  That’s why it’s elusive to so many people.  

If you’re working in a really dysfunctional workplace sometimes the only thing you can do is to leave it.  Before you do try some of these tips.

  1. Make sure you have your attitude together.  So often it’s easier to see the toothpick in someone else’s eye but you can’t see the tree trunk in your own eye.  Take a check up from the neck up.  Take time to reflect on your own values and aspirations.  Do they fit with the organizations? Can YOU live with what you do at work?   People who are miserable in their own life are often miserable at work.  
  2.  Live and let live.  Just as you examine your own dreams and decide how you fit into the world and work, so are your coworkers.  People come from all different backgrounds and experiences. Those experiences color the way we perceive the world and approach our work.  Big eye opener… Everybody doesn’t do things the way that you do and you can’t live someone else’s life for them.  (Mind your business)  The good part is we all can learn and we all can change.  We don’t have to hold on to those things that don’t serve us or our work community well. 
  3.  Don’t fall for the ‘itching ears’ practice. This is where you are the gossip carrier.  Do you notice how bad news travels fast and positive information has a very short life?  This is human nature.  Try YOUR best to be the positive influence.  Use lunch time and breaks to just talk. Absolutely No gossip or work talk at the table.   (This is Mandatory)  Be the transformer in your workplace. Lead the way.  Everyone may not come with you but you will be happier when you are the captain of your own ship.

Finally let me restate that happiness is an outside job. Joy is an inside job.  Joy is what you carry inside yourself based on your beliefs about your place in this world.  Joy brings confidence and is not as easily influenced by outside forces. However you do have to protect it and nourish it.  You do that by taking time for yourself.  You can’t’ give what you don’t have! 

What do you do to keep positive at work?  Share your comments.  

 

For more information about taking care of yourself, visit my website http://www.LifeCoachRN.com

Naomi Jones is a Registered Nurse, Certified Life Coach, Presenter and Motivational Speaker.  She specializes in helping nurses “Live Smarter not Harder” by taking care of themselves first then reaching out to others.  After all, you can’t give what you don’t have.

Too much documentation in nursing?

Talking to a fellow nurse today discussing how much documentation nurses must do to justify that standards of practice are met.  The mantra we are taught right from nursing school is “If you didn’t document it ; it wasn’t done”  We have been led to believe this in our educational, tracks, our jobs and governing organizations like CMS.  Even our own nursing organizations have us believing that we need to document every response to “everything” to prove that we are practicing our craft appropriately. A lot of nurses feel they are documenting more than providing care.  Some areas of nursing are not experiencing this pressure.  How about you?  Where do you stand on the issue?  Is there too much documentation being done?  Is it all necessary?