Hi-Touch Healthcare

PASSION FOR THE JOB AND

POSSITIVE ATTITUDE
WHAT TO EXPECT IN THIS PRESENTATION

Overview of Happiness
Happiness in the workplace
Recognizing Positive and Negative Behavior Activity
“Who, Me?” Activity
Strategies for Renewal
What Made or Makes You Passionate Activity
Personal Stories: This Is Why We Do What We Do
 Happiness

Happiness – pleasant mood and emotions, positive

well-being, and positive attitude

Happiness is highly valued in most societies

A feeling of happiness is a fundamental human

experience
 Happiness in the Workplace

Is influenced by:
– Short lived events
• Staffing, daily work load, patient
acuity, etc.

– Chronic conditions of the job

• Task – repetitive tasks such as
documentation
• Organization – policies and
procedures, job requirements, JCAHO
 Happiness in the Workplace

It is also influenced by:

– Attributes of one’s personality and personal life

– Appropriate “fit” in the organization

– Working environment – immediate peers,

supervisors, administration
Fisher (2009)
 Activity #1
Recognizing Positive and Negative
Behavior

What do you see where you work?

– Positive?

– Negative?
 Work Environment
Let’s See How You Did!!

Positive Work Environment – employees who have:

– Positive attitudes
– Passion for the job
– Commitment to the organization
– Motivation
– Optimism
 Work Environment
Let’s See How You Did!

Positive Work Environment – employees who are…

– Engaged
– Enthusiastic
– Dedicated
– Focused
– Productive
– Inspiring
– Caring
 Work Environment
Let’s See How You Did!
Negative Work Environment – employees who are:
– Dissatisfied
– Unorganized
– Angry
– Lacking in motivation
– Not a team player
– Unproductive
– Bored
– Mean
 Activity #2
“Who, Me?”

Who Do You Work With?

Who are You?

 Strategies for Renewal
(Benest, 2006)

Have the courage to reflect:

– What are the values that attracted me to this
profession?
– Am I fulfilling those values?
– What gives me meaning within my community?
– What gives me meaning within the organization?
– What is lacking?
– Where do I add value?
 Strategies for Renewal

Take Some Risks When Making Changes:

– Initiate a bold project
– Is it time for a change?
– Involve others in an improvement project
– Ask others what changes they would like to see in
their workplace
– Schedule a work meeting to discuss vision in a
non-work environment (park, etc.)
 Strategies for Renewal

Reignite your lust for lifelong learning – “Shake

Things Up”:
– Take on a new role
– Read literature about your career
– Join a community organization
– Travel to a different culture or country to do
international service
– Take a class outside of your specialty area
 Strategies for Renewal

Create a Passion Project:

– What are you passionate about?
Can be inside our outside the work
environment
– Given your values, interests, and talents , what
would your passion project be?
– Share and celebrate your project!
Strategies for Renewal

Reflect

Revive
Make
the
Changes
Passion

Create a
Continue
Passion
Learning
Project
 Activity #3
What Made or Makes You Passionate
About Your Career?

Why did you choose you career?

Are you passionate about your career?

 Personal Stories
This is Why We Do What We Do

Stories remind us of why we come to work everyday.

We REALLY do this because we want to help others

Here are some stories…

 Stories - anonymous

“One thing that keeps happening every time I work is that the
patients tell me what a good nurse I am. These compliments
really keep me charged. This convinces me that nursing is not all
about the medications you give or the procedures you perform.
It’s about listening to your patients and making them smile. I
never leave a patient room without making them laugh or smile,
even when I’m in a hurry.”
 Stories - anonymous

“Years ago, I was working an overnight shift in a nursing home

with over 50 residents. One of the women living there had night
terrors. Her confusion and fear touched my heart as I tried to
imagine experiencing her quality of life. I discovered that she
would calm down and return to sleep if I spent 10-15 minutes
talking to her. I discovered that if I came to work 20 minutes
early to sit with her, hold her hand and talk with her, she would
sleep peacefully the whole night through. That is what I did,
twenty minutes a day, five days a week.”
 Stories - anonymous

“It’s a great day when you hear a ‘thank you,’ but it’s a wonderful
day when you hear ‘There’s the nurse that saved my life.’ Lately,
I have heard that a lot from people at work. I work in a prison
staffed with 158 officers and 42 ancillary staff. Approximately
three months ago, an officer came to the medical department with
chest pain, elevated b/p, and classic symptoms of a heart attack. I
insisted on calling an ambulance to send him out for evaluation at
the ER. He declined. I went to the captain and was told I couldn’t
force him to go by ambulance. 
 Continued . . .
They called a Code 3 in the lobby of the jail. I responded with the
crash cart and two other staff, only to find the officer on the floor.
He collapsed before he got to the front door. I, along with
another LPN and a medical assistant, obtained vital signs and
an EKG, and sure enough, it showed a heart attack. When the
paramedics got to the scene, they shipped him to the cardiac unit
in the ICU. He received three stents and returned to work two
months later. About eight days after his return, he came to
medical and had similar symptoms but more fatigue, weakness,
and some odd findings, like a mild rash around the arms and
chest area, and a congested feeling in his chest. 
 Continued . . .

I informed him that since his stent placement was only eight
weeks old, we had to ship him by ambulance to the ER to find
out if his stents were blocked or if he was allergic to something
(medications) that they had put him on post-op. He again
declined my ambulance ride to the ER. Another emergency to the
lobby, and again, he was on the floor. This time he was
completely out of it, confused. His respiratory rate was odd, first
minute it was 24, second minute it was 6-8. The medics came,
and I gave them the vitals and the EKG strip which showed
another infarct. ICU for him once again. 
 Continued . . .

Yesterday- three months after this second collapse – the officer

returned. He stopped me in the hallway, gave me a big hug and
said, ‘Thank you for saving my life. Sorry I was such a
bullheaded man.’ 

There are many rewarding days in nursing but to hear those

words ‘thank you for saving my life’ makes your skin get goose
bumps and brings a smile to my face! Every day is a great day to
be a nurse. You can make a difference. It’s a rewarding job. I
wouldn’t want to be anything else!”
 Activity #4
Personal Stories
Thank You!!

Questions?
Comments?