Consider becoming a mentor.

Nurses nationwide told me how valuable their mentors and mentees have been to their development as a nurse. A Virginia nurse practitioner said she thinks of her mentors as “second moms.”

Seasoned nurses offered several tips for being a good mentor. “I think the key components of good mentors are (1) patience: allowing a nurse to struggle and not to expect an answer immediately; (2) challenge: teaching a nurse to think out a process, task, or situation by reviewing the pros and cons; and (3) interest: helping a nurse both professionally and personally as she deals with new stresses and responsibilities,” said a clinical nursing instructor in the upper Midwest. “Learning to be a nurse is like learning to be a mom. It’s holistic, complicated and requires desire, knowledge, and a willingness to accept criticism. These are hard for some people, but so very important.”

A Missouri clinical instructor said that mentors should be open to the idea that a mentee might have different needs than a mentor expects, and that those needs might change. “So be adaptable. Have a sense of humor, listen attentively, give the learner a chance to problem-solve or identify the possible options,” she said.

Take “you time.”

Flight attendants remind passengers to secure their own oxygen masks first before helping others. Similarly, nurses should remember to take care of themselves, even if only to take better care of their patients. This can help them to find joy or comfort in even the toughest weeks. “After a bad day, I go home and take twenty minutes all to myself. Sometimes I sit and cry and sometimes I just reflect on the day. After those twenty minutes, I let it go,” an Oklahoma LPN said.

Help coworkers with substance abuse issues.

If you or a coworker have a substance abuse issue, check with your state nursing association for peer assistance, alternative-to-discipline rehabilitation, or diversion programs. For signs of an impaired colleague, and treatment recommendations, see www.aana.com/GettingHelp. For resources searchable by state, visit Webapps.aana.com/Peer/directory.asp. While the AANA’s comprehensive directory is intended for nurse anesthetists—and the Peer Advisors volunteer only for CRNAs and student nurse anesthetists—many of the resources and state assistance programs can help all nurses. The AANA’s pages provide one of the best one-stop shops for nurses seeking help.

The ANA’s Impaired Nurse Resource Center also includes some links to organizations specializing in addiction: Nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/WorkplaceSafety/Healthy-Work-Environment/Work-Environment/ImpairedNurse/Impaired-Nurse-Resources.html.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association’s guidebook on interventions advised colleagues to begin this delicate conversation with: “I am not asking you to confirm, deny, or explain the reasons for the observed behaviors. I am here to share concerns and offer possible resources for your consideration.” The guidebook added: “It is important that the nurse understands that his/her options will become limited and their license will be in jeopardy if substance use continues.” Coworkers can then inform the nurse about the availability of family medical leave and direct her/him to a peer assistance program.

Create moments of connection.

Canadian nursing professor Beth Perry studied exemplary oncology nurses to determine how they avoided compassion fatigue. She found that the nurses who created and appreciated “moments of connection” were energized by these occasions: “Those meaningful connections occur in moments often created by shared humor, therapeutic silence, touch, keeping the promise to never abandon—small gestures lovingly given that change the patient’s sense of well-being and have a positive effect on the nurse as well.”

Lobby for staff education on lateral aggression.

When Martha Griffin, director of nursing education and research at Boston Medical Center, taught a group of new nurses how to recognize lateral aggression and what to do about it, every nurse who was bullied confronted her aggressor, and in every case, the bullying stopped. Educating staff about what constitutes lateral aggression both empowers the victims and alerts the bullies to the ways their colleagues might be interpreting their behavior. This awareness and preparation can improve nurse retention rates.

Reach out to colleagues.

In some cases, alleviating hostilities among nurses could be as simple as making an effort to bridge generation or seniority gaps. “Experienced nurses can feel threatened by new nurses and resistant to changes recommended by new nurses. At the same time, new nurses don’t recognize the significance of experience,” said a Midwestern nursing professor. “As a Clinical Nurse Specialist, I was the one to orient new employees, and found that having sharing sessions off-the-clock, whether at coffee, lunch, or after work, decreased this. Unless nurses are allowed to share their understanding of how and why things are being done, the not-understanding becomes anger and disgruntlement. Both sides need to learn how to bring up something new and be willing to work together on change.”

Remember why you love your job.

At Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, part of the program to mitigate compassion fatigue includes an exercise in which participants share verbally with each other the reasons they chose their career. Similarly, it might be helpful for other nurses to remind themselves why their field is rewarding. Here are some perspectives on why nursing is wonderful.

“I absolutely love what I do. When patients and families come into the hospital, they are at the very least concerned, and at the most extremely frightened. There is nothing more satisfying than sitting down with a patient and discussing their diagnosis and what they can expect from their hospital stay. You can see them relax; they are so thankful that you simply took the time to sit and listen to them. I also love helping patients recover from surgery because you can directly see how your care helps them make a full recovery.”

—a Minnesota travel nurse

“Helping someone fills up that part of me that makes me able to give some more. I love figuring out what the matter is, that collaborative effort to make a nursing diagnosis and plan. I like that I have never been unemployed. I will always have the dignity of work that is fulfilling.”

—a Washington State nursing instructor

“There is not a day at work where a life is not changed by something I do, whether it’s a decision on how to staff the floor, answering another nurse’s question so she can understand what to do, or helping to settle a family issue.”

—an Oklahoma clinical supervisor

“Nursing is that challenge which can make you a better person than you could have imagined being. It is a continuous education requiring curiosity, flexibility, ingenuity, resourcefulness, faith, compassion, and humor.”

—a Missouri clinical nursing instructor

“I think nursing is the only occupation that is ridiculously crazy, challenging, and sometimes out of control, while at the same time the most rewarding, fulfilling, and inspirational occupation. It amazes me how many people’s lives I have been able to touch in a meaningful way.”

—a Maryland oncology nurse

“I love working in an environment where I can see the effects of my work in real time—instant gratification! I never leave feeling like I wasted my time at work. I like the mental puzzle of trying to figure out what’s going on, but I also really appreciate the physical aspect of working with my hands. I learn something new every day; no day is ‘just another day at the office.’ ”

—a California nurse practitioner