Quick ( Conscious-Self ) Rounding & Conversation Tips
THESE TIPS AREN’T GOING TO BE QUICK IF YOU DON’T GET YOUR INTENTIONAL CONSCIOUS – SELF INTO GEAR … Start here
Step #1 Take control of your mind/thoughts
Acknowledge & set aside the pressures and burdens you carry:
never-enough staffing;
constant changes in technologies, acuities, pharma, supplies, regulations;
the impact of egos, conflicts, and emotional un-intelligence around you.
Step #2 Think: “This is my time to meaningfully connect with 1 or 2 nurses”
Use the stairs – (fewer people around)
Take some deep cleansing breaths as you go up & down the stairs.
Step #3 Look for willing nurse-participants
Take note of nurses who are chatty, approach them first.
These nurses will allow you a moment to settle into your un-entangled conscious thoughts.
Approach nurses who make eye contact.
Approach nurses who seem in mid-thought or in thought-pause mode
(even when they are walking …)
Allow a microsecond pause –
“My process of initiating these conversations started with a question with nurses about their views and intentionality around their caring practices, followed by a pause. The microsecond pause let me know if the nurse could shift or needed to stay focused on the clinical. The nurses intuitively knew that this was not just face time, or the next flavor of the month. These became human exchanges, not boss–worker exchanges. Several nurses were immediately forthcoming with ease and efficiency. Others looked bewildered, as if they hadn’t considered their thoughts about caring for some time. And others passed on the opportunity. Some nurses, who refrained initially, shared the next time I came around.”
Getting Real p 123
Step #4 Suggested words to start with:
“Tell me about you. What makes you feel good about your work?”
“Tell me what brings meaning in your work?”
“… how often do you experience this …?”
Getting Real p 125
Step # 5 Take note of the energy shift …
“The more often I asked about real caring, the more often nurses participated. There were awkward times. It was one experimental, casual conversation at a time. This showed me that even though nurses are busy, the nature of the topic drew many nurses in. I am convinced that there are nurses from all specialties who long to converse about their caring thoughts and experiences. It’s our job to invite them to share.” Getting Real p 124
Step # 6 Move onto the next unit
Nurses will “kinda” look for you next time.
They will start to gather around, lean in, get curious …
Step #7 Be aware of how nurses see you
Take note of the nurses whose eyes seem to say, “what is she/he doing up here today”?
These are the nurses who have something to say,
and are the most disarmed and forthcoming when you ask about something meaningful to them.
Step #8 Never ever feel snubbed. They will respond next time.
“Show your humanity, and no one will turn away.”
Nurses responded in surprising and refreshing ways that showed a desire for connection and authenticity. Getting Real p 119
Impact
Nurses will see you differently. Your relationships with nurses will change. There won’t be fireworks, but the seeds of change are being sown.
You will feel differently about yourself, about nursing, about your nurse leader job and about nurses.
You will see and feel a sense of humanity all around you.
“This one-step forward provides a path for nurse leaders to help themselves and nurses to slow things down and have short routine conversations about what matters most about
being a nurse—caring. There is nothing new in this nurse leader practice; it threads through nursing’s history since Nightingale and is relevant today.” Getting Real p 117