ONS Connect - April 2008 - (Page 5)

EDITOR’SNOTE You Can Control the Balance in Your Life [By Debra M. Wujcik, RN, PhD, AOCN®, Editor] Debra M. Wujcik, RN, PhD, AOCN ®, Editor Learning to set healthy boundaries helps us to keep in the things that nurture us and keep out the things that will harm us. ork-life balance programs are the topic for the feature story in this issue of ONS Connect, in which nurses share what their institutions are doing to support nurses personally and professionally. I heartily applaud hospitals that recognize a responsibility to assist their staff with personal errands and services. However, I also wonder, what is our individual responsibility in maintaining the right balance? I have worked in oncology for my entire career, starting as a staff nurse on a busy oncology unit and eventually working in home care hospice, bone marrow transplantation, and clinical trials. Early on, I was taught and learned how to deal with repeated deaths of patients with whom I had grown close. For me, the emotional toll of cancer care has been balanced by the joy of raising my two daughters. Over the years, I learned some things that have helped me to maintain a balance. There are seasons in our personal and professional lives, in our families and in our careers. In retrospect, the seasons are often short. Sometimes our children require more of our time, and sometimes they can tolerate our time away from them. Jobs are more demanding at times, and professional goals take priority (e.g., returning to school). A family crisis or change may require our full attention. It is good to realize that we will get through the seasons intact. W I read a life-changing book a number of years ago, Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say No, to Take Control of Your Life (Cloud & Townsend, 1992). I learned that just as homeowners set physical boundaries around their property, we can learn to set physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual boundaries for our lives to help us distinguish what is our responsibility and what is not. Learning to set healthy boundaries helps us to keep in the things that nurture us and keep out the things that will harm us. We build fences instead of walls, with gates that we control. Having personal boundaries means that we know our own limits and we take care to not exceed them. We know the things that make us happy and those that drain us. By saying no to extra duties when we are tired or by not covering for coworkers who are not doing their jobs, we are not being selfish. We are taking care of what is our responsibility and allowing others to take care of theirs. When we take care of ourselves, we are able to care for our patients and families more effectively. As you read this issue, you may find ideas to take to your own administration. I encourage you to also consider your own responsibility to create your work-life balance. ✱ Cloud, H., & Townsend, J. (1992). Boundaries: When to say yes, when to say no, to take control of your life. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. APRIL 2008 ONS CONNECT 5

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ONS Connect - April 2008

ONS Connect - April 2008 Contents Editor's Note Just In Work-Life Balance A Year in the Life—Month Four Web Connect Capitol Connection Notice Nursing Now Enhance Your Professionalism in Your Daily Practice Help Patients Integrate Yoga Into Cancer Care Caregiver Care Epigenetics Offers New Options for Cancer Diagnosis Working for You Calendar of Events Staying on Top

ONS Connect - April 2008

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