Stepping Outside the Box

This week we focused on "Change" and how change is good. There is constant change at work. I can say for nursing that change is important. The best phrase I heard this week in school was....

If we keep doing things the same way, nothing gets better. 


This is such a true statement. When I first started as a nurse I was just keeping my head above water. However, now I really understand the need for constant monitoring and change when necessary. It is too easy to fall into a routine and never progress. This is really the same with life in general. If we don't continually assess and look for areas that need improvement, we will remain stagnant.

Five years ago when I decided to go back to school, I stepped outside the box. I stepped outside my comfort zone. I because a student in my 40's. I left the comforts of my stay-at-home-mom life to join the ranks of college students. Everything was new to me, especially perspectives. But I think the key to change is in our perspective. If we expand the borders of our perspective by thinking and moving and living outside the box, we can embrace what change brings.

We were challenged this week to do things differently. Again, it is so easy to fall into a routine of doing things like parking in the same spot, following the same pattern of getting ready each day, driving the same route to and from work or school, or even eating the same foods. So we were asked to shake things up a bit. Here is a list of what I did differently this week...

I decided not to stress about being late to school (I am never late) because I really needed the extra time.

I took the freeway to school. My husband always says it's faster but I like the way I usually go.

Parked in a different spot when I went shopping (I am such a creature of habit usually).

Changed how I use my brain (1 sheet of paper with patient information on it) at work to simplify and streamline what I do each shift.

Rearranged my bedroom furniture.

Biggest thing.... I changed which side of the bed I sleep on at night.

For the most part, these are things I did in my personal life. One thing that I do for work every shift is I review what I think didn't go well that night and I find ways to change what I am doing so it never happens again. For example, if during shift change the oncoming nurse asks a question that I don't know how to answer, I make certain that I always have that information in the future. Or, if I am not administering patient's pain meds when they are expecting them, I look for ways to keep on top of the timing of their meds. I have found that as I do this, I improve how my patients are taken care of. It has helped me refine my skills over this past year.

The one thing I haven't changed up yet has been ordering something different at my favorite places to eat. I will work on this.... maybe!

Change is good, change means improvement has a chance to happen. Change means errors are less likely to happen. Daily assessing when and where change can be made is essential for improvement and personal growth.