As we all know, there is never enough time in our professional life to do all of the things we want or need to complete. Just when we have all of our charting done, our screenings done and our school nurse tasks completed, the school year is over! But our work is far beyond completing all of the thousands of tasks that await us each school year.
Sometimes we get caught up in the tasks and assignments but lose sight of the bigger picture, the wide-angle view of our real purpose. That is where our real work begins, in our purposeful choosing of where we will spend our efforts outside of completing tasks. Somehow reframing our focus frees up time when we thought we had no additional moments to squeeze out of a day. I challenge all of the #RelentlessSchoolNurses that I have met through this blog to take a few moments and try on this idea of reframing your focus.
Where will this reframing take you as we begin to plan for the 2017-18 school year? Yes, we have hundreds of screenings, vaccination compliance, endless IHP’s, 504 plans, medication management, not to mention emergencies, children with special health care to identify. This is the work we know best. My challenge to you is in identifying what you are most passionate about in your work? What will you choose as a focus in this new school year that will make your heart full?
When you identify that “thing”, I promise time will magically appear. The work is in choosing, consciously deciding that our work is beyond the tasks that can overwhelm us. When our time is spent focused on our passions, space opens up and time is no longer a factor. When school nurses ask me how I find the time to write this blog or work in my community, I encourage them to find their passion and time will appear. Much like the movie “Field of Dreams”, if you build it, they will come. Time is like that, but first, you do need to choose your focus, identify your passion, that is the real work.
The new school year 2017-18 brings the promise of a fresh start for your practice. What will you choose as your passion, the “thing” that will open new doors for you and your school community? Time will show up for you, this I can promise! Please share your plans with our growing #RelentlessSchoolNurse community. We learn from each other.