Five Ways Nurses can be Productive Both On & Off Work

There is no doubt that nurses are in demand as they are considered as a critical aspect of any healthcare facility’s workforce. After all, they produce results! In fact, they handle and manage numerous patients and do their best to fulfill their unique healthcare needs and requirements. 

That said, working on your productivity as a nurse isn’t an overnight effort. After all, when you’re working as a nurse, you probably won’t have the time even to spend time with your family, let alone work on professional development. 

However, for nurses to provide the highest quality patient care, it is of the utmost importance they have the resources and time required to increase their productivity and efficiency.

Furthermore, while hospitals and other healthcare facilities have policies and protocols in place that support both patients and nurses, it will only take you so far. With this in mind, if you’re an RN looking to improve your productivity, you have come to the right place. 

So, without further ado, let us look at a few productivity tips every nurse should follow. 

Acquire Further Education.

It is a no-brainer that, like doctors, nursing is a profession that requires lifelong learning to remain competent and up-to-date with the latest nursing and medical practices and techniques. After all, if you aren’t utilizing the newest nursing skills and techniques, you won’t be able to remain productive and competitive, and your career will slowly go down the drain. 

However, you can always obtain further education to ensure you are equipped with the must-have skills for this noble profession. For instance, you can enroll in a master’s in nursing online degree from best of the available nursing programs to enhance existing skills, learn new ones and improve your knowledge in the process. 

• Also read: Challenges Facing Nursing Education in the Advanced Healthcare Setting

In the end, it’ll benefit you both professionally and personally. Not to mention, your patients will also benefit from this as they will get the best patient-centered care from you. 

Learn to Manage Your Time More Effectively.

Most nurses usually consider themselves as effective multitaskers. However, in reality, most of us aren’t great multitaskers at all. That said, nurses typically spend their time juggling multiple patients and working between shifts. 

So, there is a high chance that medical mistakes and errors will occur. Couple that with other tasks like maintaining records, working the night shift, and you have yourself a recipe for disaster. 

So, to utilize your time to the fullest, you must regroup and take breaks whenever you can. Doing so will allow you to reset yourself and make the most effective use of your time. Moreover, task prioritization is your best friend while working as a nurse.

As nursing is a 24-hour job, you need to prioritize your tasks accordingly. So, if you’re engaged in administrative duties, they can probably wait if they aren’t directly related to patient care. 

• Also read: Why Do Nurses Need an ID Badge Holder?

Develop a Daily Routine.

The nursing profession is a hectic one. It requires nurses to be on their guard 24/7 and prepare themselves for anything. However, you probably will get lost in the whirlwind of daily nursing duties without a daily routine. 

That said, whenever you are about to leave work, take a few minutes to create a plan for the next day. These five or ten minutes every day to plan out what you will do the next will be time well spent. 

So, whether you start your job by checking your emails or patient vitals, do it the same way every day. Doing so will ensure you perform your job as productively and effectively as possible. 

However, in doing so, nurses must know how to keep themselves protected from Infectious diseases!

Never Lose Sight of Your Goals.

Okay, ‘never’ might be a strong word, but you must strive to achieve your goals and never lose sight of the results. Moreover, there might be a chance that you have new career goals in your mind, so revisit your old ones and update them accordingly. 

If you keep your goals in your crosshairs, you will work even harder to achieve them. Thus you will search for more ways to remain productive and effective in your work. After all, if you aren’t productive at the workplace, chances are your employer will let you go sooner or later. 

It won’t matter if you’re a nurse or not!

Batch Similar Tasks.

One of the easiest ways to boost productivity while working as a nurse is to batch similar tasks. This will allow you to manage multiple tasks in a single session and complete them quicker, boosting productivity in the process. 

In addition, you can go about categorizing tasks according to type and duration. For instance, if a nursing task is related to blood work, why not ask the lab to run bloodwork for all your assigned patients simultaneously. 

Doing so will save time and a lot of trips to the test lab. Plus, you will prevent unnecessary fatigue at the end of your shift. 

Conclusion.

In the end, every nurse should strive to provide their patient with the best healthcare possible. However, what comes after patient care is different for every nurse. 

That said, it is highly likely that their second professional goal is to be as productive as possible at work. Moreover, what works for one nurse might not work for the other. So, ensure that you give the tips mentioned above a try to find out if they work for you or not; chances are they will.

• Next read: What Skills Do You Need For a Health Care Job?