7 Tips for Nurses to Overcome Working-Guilt During COVID-19

As a nurse, you know that nursing is a rewarding and fulfilling career. If you are also a mom, you probably realize that balancing your career with your home life is not an easy task. It is not exceptional for nurses to experience guilt about leaving their children at home while working long shifts. Here are a few avenues to overcome that guilt.  

1. Acknowledge Your Feelings 

Listen to what your feelings of guilt are telling you. Pushing them away will stress you even more. Consider writing down what you believe your feelings of guilt are trying to say to you. Communicating with a friend or loved one is also beneficial. Emotions can help you figure out what you need to feel healthy. So, take the time to acknowledge them.  

2. Seek Solutions 

After considering your feelings, it is time to diagnose the problem and seek solutions to solve it. The answer might be to work out a FaceTime schedule with your loved ones. If your guilt is due to exhaustion from a night-shift schedule, see if hiring more help is possible. Perhaps there are no clear answers, and it might be time to seek a position that fits your life better.  

3. Change Your Vocabulary 

Just changing the way you discuss work might be a big help for you in overcoming guilt. The next time you discuss work with your family, instead of saying I must work, try saying I get to go to work. Putting a positive spin on your message can help lessen feelings of guilt.  

4. Avoid Overtime  

Trying to find time for your child can be difficult. Picking up extra shifts can cause disruption and unpredictability for a household. Working extra hours is demanding physically and mentally and can result in the negligence of home responsibilities, especially if you are a single parent.   

5. Consider Night Shifts 

Do not rule out working night shifts. If you have young children, you can still tuck them in bed, wake them up in the morning, and try to rest while the child is at school.  

6. Seek a Flexible Schedule Job 

A great way to be a nurse and still have time for a family is to find a job with a flexible schedule. A few of these types of jobs include: 

• Clinic Nurse. The primary focus is generally on preventive health. Education on various topics such as a healthy diet, diabetic living, blood pressure management, etc. are types of education taught to patients in this role. 
• Consulting nurse. Not all nurses work in direct care. Many nurses work at law firms, administration, and other non-patient care areas that typically allow for more family time.  
• Home Health Nurse. There is an enormous demand for nurses who care for the people in their homes. Although this is a demanding job, it offers a flexible schedule.  

7. Keep a Family Calendar 

Consider putting together a family calendar so everyone can see when you are working and when you are at home. Organize your list of family events, birthdays, anniversaries, and extracurricular activities. You might want to use a calendar like Google Calendars, so you can easily share the calendar with all family members. 

We Have the Solutions for You

If you need help with your nursing staff, check out Nursing Career Coach. Using data-driven science, Nursing Career Coach can provide solutions to help your organization improve nurse engagement.