Jennifer Rock|Photos by Leah Huebner
Actress and ER nurse Jennifer Rock shares exactly how little acts of treatment, teamwork, and individual regimens help nurses stay grounded and efficient.
Can you share a moment from your profession that reminded you why you picked nursing?
I had a doctor when inform me, “If you can really touch a single person a change, it’s been extremely effective, and that’s a good change.” As a nurse, you’re constantly hurrying around; it’s very fast-paced, particularly in the emergency room, so it has to do with the minutes of tranquility with somebody that just needs comfort or someone to care for them. Whether it’s an older person that doesn’t have anybody and just wants to speak, or if it’s someone that’s actually scared, you can simply try to make time, quit a little, and be like, “Hey, you’re okay. You’re in the best possible area, and we’ve obtained you.” It’s those moments of being a sense of assurance for somebody in a time of unpredictability that remind me why I do what I do.
What’s one item of modern technology or devices that’s made your work as a nurse a lot more effective or reliable?
That’s an excellent question. A great item of innovation that has made taking care of extra effective is, I dislike to state, the PureWick. We have a lot of non-ambulatory patients, so the PureWick, a condom catheter, helps individuals remain more comfortable without using something like a bedpan, which can really feel kind of undermining or uneasy or create bedsores. Likewise, things like ultrasound makers for hard-stick IVs. Those are video game changers. Also, upgraded charting systems. Having great shorthand to be able to chart effectively and return to individually individual care is terrific.
Has there been a time when strong interaction, with either an individual or colleague, made a huge distinction in your day?
I really did not expect that there would be a lot of parallels in between acting and nursing, but one of my preferred things about both is the collaboration.
Whenever I have a registered nurse that’s in my team– whether they jump in when I’m embeded another area with an individual or I do the same for them– it’s that shorthand of seeing that a registered nurse has a requirement and working together. We’re all on the exact same team. We’re all trying to complete the same point– better individual end results. When I have a registered nurse that, without me also asking, will certainly enter and assist me with the person, that makes me seem like we’re all teaming up on this together for a common objective. That’s something that just indicates the globe to me– when nurses will certainly help each other out.
What guidance would you give to a registered nurse that’s feeling bewildered or underappreciated now?
Concentrate on what you can control. I’ll be really straightforward. For me, I understand often, specifically in the earlier years, I would get really upset at things that were very out of my control. Whether it was problems with the health care system, or the way the system was established and falling short, I would certainly find myself getting extremely mad and discouraged. What’s assisted me is to concentrate on things that I can manage. Yes, they may be on a smaller scale, but I can regulate just how I reply to negativity at the office or positivity at the office. I can control exactly how I talk with patients. I can regulate what I let in and what I do not. Especially in an emergency room environment, or any kind of health care bedside environment, there can be a lot of negative thoughts, unfortunately, and it’s within your control what you let in.
I’ll be truthful: Some days I win, and some days I lose and enable things in, for sure. There are shifts I finished where I was like, “Alright, this change defeat me.” However I try to make it so I am in control of just how I respond to the health care market, and to understand that it’s all a selection. Although some days it’s more challenging than others.
What everyday routines or little regimens assist you stay based and really feel great throughout lengthy or stressful shifts?
Obtaining outside, to be sincere. Time stands still when you’re on a 12 -hour shift, so I take time if I can– and not every shift permits it– but when I can, I carve out time to just get outside, obtain some vitamin D, and check out some nature. It’s something to remind you that the whole world isn’t those fluorescent lights. It’s just kind of reconnecting with life beyond the hospital.