Dr. Nancy Iankowitz DNP, RN, FNP-BC

Contact:  (917) 716-6802

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Have you mastered the art of LIFTING yourself up?  (Or are you better at BEATING yourself up?)

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Sometimes we buy into the negativity around us . . . and this is where we, in the nursing profession, need to devote time and energy.

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We need to maintain balance so that we can bring positive energy to the patients who invite us to join in their healing journey.  People ask our advice, and we need to see through a clear lens.

A story of my ‘failures’ . . . As I prepared to resign from a position that no longer suited my needs – is was fired . . . not once, but TWICE in my career.

My ‘happy thought’ became my letter of resignation.  I carried it with me for three weeks, planning to submit it – giving two weeks’ notice, when out of nowhere (it seemed to me) my ‘boss’ called me into the office and told me to leave.  Just leave.  I had patients on my schedule; in fact, one one was a follow-up from a surgical intervention.  The surgeon expected my assessment that very afternoon.

Upon my firing, I informed my boss of my schedule, asked for permission to see that patient, and respectfully requested that I be permitted to submit the letter of resignation I had been carrying around. My boss told me to ‘just accept being fired’ so I could collect unemployment (referred to as a ‘perk’ by that boss) – but I insisted that I preferred to resign as I had intended to do for weeks. I was then permitted to see only the post-surgical patient, but was not permitted to touch the computer. Notes were hand written at that organization, so that was not an issue.

I found it interesting that my immediate supervisor was as shocked as was I – the ‘firing’ was apparently equally surprising to both of us. Bottom line here:  the vibe leading up to that moment was hard for me to ignore – although my immediate supervisor, with whom I got along famously, seemed to miss it. Lesson:  trust your instincts.

That was firing #1 and I bless that situation for it inspired me to explore talents I didn’t know I had.  Fast forward to firing #2. Having mastered the art of following my gut, honoring my intuitive need to distance myself from vibes that distract from balance, I recovered from the second firing  by exploring what had been – to that point, previously untapped talents. I became motivated to fulfill even more dreams that, up to that moment, I believed were limited to my imagination.  Well, they became my new reality.

What’s the message here?  For every stone or boulder along the road, though your spiritual ankle might become twisted or you might otherwise feel knocked off balance, there is a new exercise to learn, or maybe even a new path to travel.

Life is a journey.  We need to be fulfilled personally and professionally in order to maintain balance of mind, body and spirit. I was honored to be invited to share a few pieces of my adventure with Elizabeth Scala on her podcast (below).  I hope it helps to inspire you.  If it does, it will make the difficulties I endured more meaningful to me, as there MUST be a bigger reason for my disappointments than just discovering my own light.  Here’s to YOU discovering YOURS.

Check out my new episode on the #YourNextShift podcast with @ElizabethScala!

 #Nursing Career Advice in a Fun & Upbeat Way!

It is also available via iTunes, and can be accessed there for free. You are welcome to download the free episode from the iTunes store and invited to leave some comments/reviews. The iTunes store link is https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1025968665.