The following story powerfully illustrates the power of the right mindset.
A man came across three masons. The first seemed unhappy at his job. When the man asked what he was doing, he responded, “I’m just hammering this rock to make a big brick, and I can’t wait ’til I can go home.”
”A second mason, seemingly more interested in his work, when asked what he was doing, answered, “Well, I’m molding this rock so it will be a wall, but I’ll sure be glad when it’s done.”
”A third mason was hammering at his block fervently until he was satisfied that it was the best he could do. When questioned about his work he stopped, gazed skyward and proudly proclaimed, “I…am building a cathedral!”
Same job. Different attitudes.
Which mason do you most readily identify with?
Though transformational change is influenced by what an educator ultimately DOES differently in the class or clinical settings, nothing will change unless this same educator THINKS DIFFERENTLY about what they do and the value of teaching the next generation of professional nurses.
How Do You See Yourself?
In the middle of a busy semester it is all too easy to lose complete perspective of what motivated you to become an educator and maintain the mindset that recognizes the bigger picture and value of what you do as an educator.
Once this attitude shifts, to just getting by, and you become a slave to the tyranny of the urgent and getting through each day, there is no time or energy to implement needed change or do things differently.
No one is immune to this tendency and the potential to drift from passionate zeal to going through the motions can happen to anyone including myself.
My Story
When I first began sharing my strategies on clinical reasoning with educators five years ago, It all started very slowly. A few speaking events, write a few case studies that were posted on my website and enjoying the blessing of being able to manage my workload on my own with no pressure.
On any given day 10-20 educators came to my website and three hundred individual educators came each month.
Fast forward to the present.
Each month there are over 5,000 individuals visiting my site. My workload has significantly increased and I often start the day overwhelmed with a “to-do” list that feels more like a game of “whack-a-mole” as I get some things done, but other demands spring up out of nowhere that require immediate attention.
As a result, I have recently struggled to find the joy and sense of vision and mission of the significance of what I do, and long for the opportunity to take a week off, but need to keep going on the gerbil wheel or will get too far behind.
Why Your Attitude Matters
Just as nurses in clinical practice can lose sight of the value of caring for others, when asked what they do reply, “I’m just a nurse”, faculty can lose sight of the value and significance of teaching students and see themselves as “just an educator.”
Your attitude determines your ultimate level of success as an educator. Having enthusiasm and pride in what you are doing will show in how you teach.
Though many variables in nursing education are outside your direct control, your attitude is something that you choose each day and have complete control of.
Being able to see the end result, rather than just the task, eliminates obstacles, focuses your energy, and provides motivation to excel.
At times your focus is only on the immediate task such as preparing for the next test, lecture, or clinical. When you change your focus on the bigger picture or WHY you do what you do, it provides motivation to persevere and inspires solutions to current challenges.
Mission and Vision
Get in touch with your personal mission and vision as a nurse educator. What do you want to accomplish or see as your primary purpose?
Have you written this down? If not you need to do so! (see my most popular blog on developing a personal mission statement).
A mission statement is not only for nursing students but every nurse educator!
A general mission statement that most educators can embrace:
MISSION…I am leaving a lasting legacy as I teach, train, and role model with excellence what it means to be a professional nurse to the next generation of professional nurses.
VISION…I recognize that patient outcomes of the patients my students will care for will be influenced by how I teach so I must do what is needed to prepare my students well for practice.
Take some time to reflect and get in touch with your “first love” of teaching and write out and define your personal vision and mission as a nurse educator.
ACTION Steps
- Reflect on your personal motivation to become an educator and write down your own mission and vision statement.
- Post this statement in a place where you see it repeatedly throughout the day.
- Encourage another educator in your department by asking them how they are doing and share your vision/mission statement with them or better yet, collaborate to develop a team or department mission/vision that everyone can aspire to live up to.
In Closing
Your attitude influences everything you do in life including how motivated and engaged you want to be to implement transformational change in nursing education.
As a person thinks in his heart, this is what they will become (Proverbs 23:7).
Use the power of your thoughts and attitude to pursue a transformational vision of excellence in all that you do and to influence the culture of your department accordingly.
Use your personal mission/vision statement to hold yourself to a high bar of doing your best and to recognize the value and significance of what you do as a nurse educator.
Despite the struggles and difficulties inherent in academia, never forget that you are making a difference by leaving a lasting legacy of your heart and passion for nursing to the next generation.
Do this, and you will be that educator who is building a “cathedral” in nursing education!
What do you think?
Have you lost a sense of your mission and vision as a nurse or nurse educator? What will you do to live this out and maintain your joy?
Comment below and let the conversation begin!
Keith Rischer – Ph.D., RN, CCRN, CEN
As a nurse with over 35 years of experience who remained in practice as an educator, I’ve witnessed the gap between how nursing is taught and how it is practiced, and I decided to do something about it! Read more…
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