Editor's Note
Ready,
set, goal
Make
a commitment to define,
plan and achieve in the new year
Beth Ulrich, Ed.D.,
RN, South Central Editor
January
8, 2001
The
beginning of a new year always seems to be a good time to
reflect on the past, assess the present and plan the future.
What are your professional and personal goals for 2001?
In your
professional life, what job do you want to have in two years?
Five years? What’s fun for you? What gives you the greatest
professional joy?
Research
has shown that nurses who have career goals, even if they
end up doing something else, are more satisfied with their
jobs. It’s the sense of moving toward something rather than
wandering aimlessly that brings about fulfillment.
What
are the requirements for the job you want? Do you have the
required education and competencies? If not, how can you
acquire them? Create a step-by-step plan with a realistic
timetable. The steps are important because they allow you
to break down a large goal (such as earning another degree)
into small, achievable tasks (such as filling out the application,
taking one course) that can be celebrated when complete.
What
can you contribute to the good of our profession? Nursing
is a team game, whether we’re taking care of a patient or
recruiting new students or staff.
As we
move more toward evidence-based practice, we all need to
improve at sharing what works and what doesn’t. What do
you know that you can share with others? What do they know
that would help your practice?
How
about helping to recruit new nurses, especially young people
who haven’t made career decisions yet? Or encouraging an
inactive nurse to reactivate her career? We fuss about what’s
wrong with nursing, but in our hearts, we know the rewards.
This year, are you willing to share what nursing has meant
to you with others?
What
are your personal goals? Personal goals are equal to or
more important than professional goals. Feeling good about
yourself as a person and taking care of yourself are prerequisites
to feeling good about yourself as a nurse.
We’ve
filled this issue of NurseWeek with articles on ways
nurses have found to take care of themselves. From yoga,
to relieving stress through the arts, to finding healthier
food to take to work, we’ve tried to give you some ideas
as you create your personal goals.
To assist
you in creating longer-term personal goals, we’ve also included
a feature story on financial planning for nurses. If none
of these solutions appeals to you, then commit to finding
some that do. At a minimum, resolve to do something just
for yourself each week.
It only
takes 21 days of doing or not doing something for a habit
to form. The goal for today is to decide what habit you
want to create or eliminate in the next month and then set
about making it happen.
Whatever
your goals, get on with them. Saying "I’ll try to do
it" is not a commitment. Saying "I’ll do it"
is. In the words of the great "Star Wars" Jedi
philosopher, Yoda, "Try not. Do!"
