3 Small Ways Nurses Can Make Big Waves

Being a nurse doesn’t stop in the hospital or facility you’re working in. In fact, it’s far beyond our workplace. In a society where people can often forget how to be kind to others, nurses sometimes feel the need to take their innate reflex to care for others to the public. You’re tired, your feet are sore, your brains might even be overloaded, but small services outside the workplace can act as large reminders for those stuck in their own worlds. Use these three small actions in life to motivate others to care for others the way a nurse does!

As if you didn’t already know, nurses are heroes. Watch this video on why we appreciate you!

Lend your ears

Sometimes all you want to do is complain about how hard your life is, how busy you are, how you can’t catch a break, but so does everyone else. Is there a friend you haven’t touched base with in a few weeks… maybe even months? Life, like toddlers, escapes quickly when we’re busy worrying about travel and work.

Reach out to a friend or get involved in the new community you joined and make new friends. As nurses, we’re skilled in reading body language. If you sense weakness or sadness in someone, even if it’s a stranger, someone you just met, or a distant friend, ask if they’re okay and how everything has been going in life for them.

Sometimes all anyone needs is someone not regularly involved in their life to act as a confidant. The people who are around them regularly have heard their stories, or perhaps this person doesn’t want to burden anyone with their venting. Light probing could be all someone needed that day. Some of the toughest warriors are the ones struggling the most internally.

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Lend your shoulders

Sometimes, lending a shoulder for someone to cry on serves as part of the care continuum. According to Harvard research, breast cancer patients with no friendship network are four times likely to die from the disease than those with ten or more close friends.

As nurses, it’s in your genetic code to want to help people feel better, emotionally and physically. We’re certain you’ve had to help patients, or family members of the ill, cope emotionally with bad news. Save lives with your kind touch and friendship offerings!

Don’t miss a beat. Read these 6 things you might not know about the Nurse Licensure Compact.

Lend your kindness

The random act of kindness is most popularly talked about and practiced around the holidays. Paying for the next person in-line’s coffee, donating clothes and toys to children in need and more. Why not offer small acts of kindness throughout the entire year? We are often more worried about ourselves before we think about helping others.

Need ideas? Companies like Kindness.org gives you endless ideas for random acts of kindness from offering up your seat on the subway to collecting litter while you’re on a walk. Acts are broken down into categories such as acts specifically for children, community, the planet and more. You’re also given the option to share your acts with social media to further motivate your circle of friends to spread the love on a daily basis!

Let’s face it, nurses are downright great people for all they do in their daily career. Take your beloved practice beyond the facilities to encourage loved ones and the community around you to shape society into a place of giving of all varieties. Small, continuous acts go a long way.

Do you have an inspiring story about a time you lent an ear, shoulder, or act of kindness? Share with us and spread the word! @FreedomHCS

Are you prepared to make a professional upgrade? Read everything you need to know about becoming a travel nurse in the U.S.: