Nurse Collaboration: A Nurse Blogger Carnival!

We’re thrilled to be hosting this week’s edition of the wonderful Nurse Blog Carnival that was created by our friend and colleague, Brittney Wilson, The Nerdy Nurse.

For this edition, we’ve chosen the theme of collaboration in nursing, and we have some wonderful submissions to offer. Please read on, and please consider sharing this post with nurses everywhere. Collaboration is where it’s at, and these nurses know what they’re talking about!

The Tapestry of Nurse Collaboration

Over on Digital Doorway, RNFM Radio co-host Keith Carlson of NurseKeith.com offers an inspirational and passionate description of how nurses naturally collaborate in the course of their work. His post, “The Tapestry of Nurse Collaboration“, describes how everyone collaborates, from air traffic controllers to plumbers and carpenters building a skyscraper. According to Keith, human beings are naturally collaborative, and nurses often use that collaborative spirit in the interest of themselves and others.

Collaborating With the Enemy

Wayne Nix of D5W.biz and StressFreeNurses.com reminds us that one definition of collaboration means “cooperating with the enemy“. In the course of his brief but poignant post, “Collaboration: Nurses Collaborating With the Enemy“, Wayne describes how, even when we don’t get along with another nurse on our unit, we still have to collaborate and cooperate for the benefit of our patient(s). He’s so right, and his admonition that “the patient is paramount” could not be more true.

Nurses Collaborate Every Day

Kathy Quan at The Nursing Site Blog asks the question, “Isn’t Collaboration In Nursing Something We Do Every Day?” Well, she’s right, and her post echoes Keith’s aforementioned opinion that teamwork and collaboration are necessary in nursing, especially since they engender shared decision making. However, Kathy takes it one step further, elucidating the notion that nurse collaboration also promotes wellness and preventive care, something that many nurses very much take to heart.

Embodied Collaboration

Over at Living Sublime Wellness, coach and Reiki Master (and master collaborator) Elizabeth Scala educates and inspires us with “Five Facts to Embodied Collaboration“. These include releasing fear, protecting your own self-care, being yourself, building meaningful relationships, and enjoying yourself. Elizabeth’s sense of fun and collaboration are infectious, so it would behoove you to listen to her preach the gospel of wellness!

The Yoga of Collaboration

Meanwhile, Annette Tersigni of The Yoga Nurse offers us her vision of “The Yoga of Collaboration in Nurses and Nursing“. For Annette, it appears that mindful compassion and loving kindness are two crucial pillars upon which she has constructed her worldview, and her desire to change consciousness in order to change the culture (of nursing or the world at large) is a point well taken. Annette’s wisdom shines through here, folks, and we’d be smart to listen.

Important Tools For Collaboration

Over at International Nurse Support, Joyce shares “Four Important Tools to Consider When Collaborating With Others“. These tools include advocating for an idea, having a specific goal in mind, communicating how that idea will benefit others, and being open to other ideas and suggestions. Joyce feels that collaboration is about “making things move and taking action“, so her tools are well-positioned to help us do just that.

Empowering Nurses Through Collaboration

Tina of Helping Nurses Succeed believes that “successful collaboration is a balancing act of personality types, work habits, communication styles and skills“. In her post, “Empowering Nurses Through Collaboration“, she encourages us nurses to not be lone rangers, but to create trust through being trustworthy ourselves, while choosing wisely when building expert teams. Tina points out how “going it alone can lead to overwork and burnout for you, and can create unnecessary stress and tension in your workplace.” So why be a lone wolf when you can enlist the support of the pack?

Online Collaboration

Erica MacDonald of Self Employed Nurse believes that online networking and collaboration are an important strategy for nurses. In her post, “The Ultimate Startup Guide to Online Collaboration“, Erica points out that great learning can take place through online relationships. According to Erica, opportunities, exposure and support are also part and parcel of these digital relationships. Finally, she also cajoles us to use the “RTT” strategy: respond, reciprocate and thank. So, start collaborating online!

Nursing Needs Online Presence

Nurse Gail over at NurseGail.com has something to say about nursing collaboration, and her message to us is that “nursing has a branding problem. It can’t decide how it wants to present itself or be perceived by the masses.  Because of the many facets of nursing and the fragmentation within the profession, developing an inclusive media plan has proven to be nearly impossible.”

To that end, Gail is offering for NurseGail.com to become “a collaborative health and wellness resource where information is provided solely by nurses“. Gail wants nurses interested in taking part in such an endeavor to contact her so that her site—which will be modeled after KevinMD.com and MindBodyGreen.com—can become a platform for nurse wisdom and expertise. This is how, in Gail’s view, nurses can fully enter the e-health conversation as a well-branded and robustly represented professional voice. She writes:

“No one understands the positive effects of interventions or the experience of illness like nurses.  Nurses are also the best teachers and translators to help others understand complex medical concepts.  Nursing is thought to be the most honest and ethical of any profession and nurses have the potential to deliver trusted health information in the best way.”

So nurses, contact Gail via NurseGail.com and help her get this collaborative ball rolling!

Collaboration is Key!

At RNFM Radio, we believe that the three C’s—collaboration, cooperation and cross-pollination—are the building blocks of professional success, satisfaction and happiness, not to mention prosperity for all. We love to hear about your collaborative endeavors, and we’re always willing to collaborate ourselves.

Internalize and digest all that these wise nurse bloggers have offered, and then figure out how you can weave even more collaboration into your life, both personally and professionally.

Those who collaborate and “play nice” are those who, in our opinion, will ultimately get ahead in the long run. Let’s all work together and make this profession—and our professional lives—as robust and collaborative as they can be. We have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

——–

This post was written as part of the Nurse Blog Carnival. If you are interested in participating find out more details and sign up here.