We had a problem—we knew it, and we just couldn’t find the right solution. The problem was that we had no time or way to grieve patients' deaths in our outpatient clinic. When a patient would die, some of the staff members would not find out for days or sometimes weeks. This left staff members feeling angry, sad, frustrated, and embarrassed if a family member would call and that staff member did not know about the patient's passing.

The incredibly easy process of making a task list may be something you already do, both in your work and personal life, but lists deserve a quick review of why they are so effective and how they free up working memory—which ultimately reduces stress and improves patient care and workplace interactions.

The importance of regular exercise and a healthy diet to maintain a healthy weight should not be underestimated. Healthy habits often need to be fostered. They need to be automatic and practiced consistently. The earlier they are developed, the bigger the benefits.

When a family member or someone close becomes ill, it's hard for nurses to be objective. The problem needs to be fixed now because we have the tools. I think this is one reason why the nursing profession is so hard—we are always on call.

"Burnout is grounded in the work environment, whereas compassion fatigue is grounded in the clinical work." I don't know if I'd ever taken the time to think about the distinctions between the two, but they are important.

It doesn’t take any longer to eat healthy food, but it does take extra planning and time to prepare healthy meals. Over the years I have come up with some time-saving tips and tools that I think you will appreciate.

A fender bender caused her to get the CT scan that showed a temporal lobe mass. Looks like a glioblastoma the oncologist said somberly. She knew more than enough to understand the magnitude of what she had been told. She was a medical professional—her role was to help people who were having a difficult time after being diagnosed with cancer—she helped them die, but she also helped them live before death.

I finally got to read my pile of journals that had been occupying my coffee table for the summer. I usually take a few volumes and hole up on the couch absorbing the new research that has come out. As always, I was personally touched by Dr. Anne Katz's editorial in the July issue of the Oncology Nursing Forum titled "Scar Tissue in the Heart."

Fos­ter­ing Well­ness and Heal­ing at Work