I know every one knows about the coronavirus.  We hear about it on the news almost constantly.

I can’t deny that I’m nervous about the situation especially since I’m a nurse.  I recently opened up to my life coach about it.  She then asked me to think about my personal rules regarding covid-19.

What am I willing to do during this crisis and what am I not willing to do during this crisis?

I thought about this question and a phrase kept coming to me.

A dead nurse takes care of no patients.  A quarantined nurse can take care of no patients.

One of my personal rules for this pandemic is to not put myself in danger.  If I don’t have a mask then I cannot take care of a corona virus patient.  I took an oath to help my patients.  Sometimes to help my patients it would mean saying no to putting myself at risk to catch the virus.  Going into a room with a positive patient without a mask would mean that I could become a way to spread the virus to not only my other patients but to the my co-workers as well.  I took an oath to do no harm.  Spreading the virus around would not be doing no harm.

There is a divide in nursing that I’m seeing right now.  Some nurses are saying to stop complaining about having no PPE and take care of the patients.  This is what nurses signed up for.  Other nurses are saying that we didn’t sign up for this and it is okay to say no to taking care of a patient without proper PPE.

I’m not going to judge any nurse for making a decision that is best for that nurse.

I know that during a pandemic we are going to be doing things differently than normal.  I will just make my own personal rules for my life.

Other people may not like them but I’m not going to put my life in danger to prove to anybody that I’m a good nurse.

I urge every one that reads this to think about your own personal rules for this pandemic.  I don’t want the human race to lose its humanity during this pandemic.  It is still okay to help other people also while keeping yourself safe.

The year of 2020 has been designated as the “Year of the Nurse”.  While I really didn’t know what that meant at first but I now know what it means to me.  Maybe this will be the year that nurses start to see themselves as human beings instead of martyrs.  As a nurse it is okay to take care of yourself.  It is okay to put yourself first.  A healthy nurse can take better care of the patients than a sick or dead nurse.  It is okay for a nurse to practice self care.  It is okay for a nurse to say no and to stop working overtime.  It is okay for a nurse to say no to taking care of a patient without proper PPE.  It is okay for a nurse to make a decision that is best for that nurse even if no one else likes it and even if someone else says that that nurse isn’t a good nurse.  It is okay for a nurse to put themselves in danger if that nurse so chooses to do so.

Every one has a different definition of a good nurse.  I have been told in the past that nurses aren’t supposed to smile and they are supposed to be matter of fact.  Some of my patients have told me that they like the fact that I smile because the hospital is already so dreary and sad.

I’m not going to put my life on the line to prove to anybody that I’m a “good” nurse.

I do think that every nurse needs to ask themselves some questions right now.

What are they willing to do and not willing to do during this pandemic?

The answer to the question might just save some lives.

 

About 2 months ago, I went paragliding.

While up in the air, he said that when he saw hawks that would let him know where the good wind was.  He said they use the wind to fly.

The next day, I opened the blinds and saw a hawk flying.  I stood there until I couldn’t see it anymore.  I observed that it indeed didn’t flap it wings.  It soared with the wind.  I didn’t see it flap its wings for a good 5 minutes.  I was mesmerized.

I learned something in that moment while looking at the hawk fly.

When I allow God/Universe to help me I can soar without having to expend my energy by trying to “flap my wings.”

I try to do some things by myself but when I ask for help from God/Universe, I get help and I don’t have to try so hard.  I have been trying to fly but not use the wind.  The hawk can fly without continuously flapping its wings because it knows to use the wind.  It trusts the wind to help it fly.

For example, I was trying to write a copy for my new website.  I was going to use the old template from my other website.  I was having trouble coming up with the words for the copy.  I asked God/Universe to help me.  A few days later, I just sat down and did the copy in a day and a half.  The words just flowed.  I had been trying for some days to write the copy.

I’m comfortable asking God/Universe to help me write things like this blog and my new website.  I don’t know why I’m not comfortable asking God/Universe for help with the big things in life.  I just sort of try to do those things on my own.  I know God/Universe always takes care of me.  I also know that I’m guided.  Following the signs always leads me to where I need to be.  It never fails.  I guess I’m not comfortable because sometimes the signs don’t come when I want them to come.  Sometimes it takes a while and that sometimes makes me nervous.

I’ve learned that in order to soar high, I have to use the help of God/Universe to get to where I need to be.  That means use God/Universe in every aspect of my life.  I know that that will only help me to soar higher than I could go on my own.

Magic happens when I allow God/Universe to help.  So I’m going to use that.

What can you use help with in your life?

Maybe you can ask for help from your higher power.  You might find that your higher power can help you soar.