Let your smile out. Caregivers CAN give too much. Be realistic, tolerant, and forgiving of your limits. Thou shalt carry malpractice insurance. When you enter a patient's or client's home, wipe your feet, take off your hat, and leave your power struggles and personal problems on the doorstep.
Nursing needs all the spokespersons and mentors it can get.
After all, it's the caregiving that offers us wisdom to apply to all aspects of life. Take everything you know from nursing to a positive turning point in your lives and let the year 2000 mark the transformation. Tova Navarra, RN, BS, is author of Wisdom for Caregivers and is a freelance writer for Nursing Spectrum.