Republished list from 2013

1. Know you want to be a nurse before seeking education/licensure.

2. Know who you are, what your stress triggers are, how your buttons get pushed.

3. Know the patient population you want to work with and that there is other employment opportunities beside hospitals.

4. Know how to care for yourself – mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. No one else will.

5. Know you are NOT perfect. You can not save everyone or control any other person except yourself. And, we all work to the best of our knowledge, skills, and abilities. We are nurses who care.

6. Know that your professional life is intertwined with your personal life and a balance needs to be maintained in order to be your best.

7. Know that nursing is a lifetime of learning, hard physical labor, and the most rewarding career a man or woman can live through but

8. Know when to ask for help for yourself, your patient, your unit, or your family. Knowing your limits and boundaries are a good thing. If you try to be all for everyone in your life, you will become a crispy critter and no longer enjoy your job or your life.

9. Know when to quit a toxic organization that blames the individual, adversely disciplines them rather than acknowledge systems failure by not providing the times, tools, and support to do the job.

10. Know you do make a difference ad your care has meaning to yourself, your patient, or the community you provide service to. You deserve a physically and psychologically SAFE workplace.

Peggy An Berry, RN