Cynthia's Journey: From Uncertainty to Passion in Nursing.The Power of Human Connection in Healthcare

In this episode of Real Nurse Stories, Cynthia Delgado shares her 33-year journey in nursing, focusing on her experiences in mental health and the importance of resilience and emotional labour. She discusses the challenges nurses face in maintaining human connections amidst systemic pressures and the role of clinical supervision in fostering resilience. Cynthia emphasises the need for self-care, curiosity, and advocacy in nursing, while also addressing generational differences and the culture of silence within the profession. The conversation highlights the importance of understanding emotional labour and resilience as processes that can be nurtured and developed.

Takeaways

• Cynthia fell into nursing but found her passion for it.
• Nurses gain skills in different specialities, not lose them.
• Human connection is vital in nursing for patient recovery.
• Resilience is a process, not just an individual responsibility.
• Emotional labour is prevalent in nursing and affects well-being.
• Clinical supervision positively impacts resilience in nurses.
• Self-awareness and self-care are crucial for nurses.
• Generational differences affect perceptions of emotional expression in nursing.
• Nurses need to advocate for themselves and their needs.
• The culture of silence in nursing hinders open communication.

Chapters

• 00:00Cynthia's Journey into Nursing
• 09:49The Importance of Human Connection in Nursing
• 20:05Challenges in Nursing: Balancing Compassion and Professionalism
• 27:27 Exploring Resilience and Emotional Labour in Nursing
• 40:13 Emotional Labour in Nursing
• 44:56 Resilience and Emotional Labour
• 50:13 Generational Perspectives in Nursing
• 55:31 The Importance of Clinical Supervision
• 01:01:16 Self-Care and Boundaries
• 01:06:23 Addressing Systemic Issues in Healthcare
• 01:12:23 The Role of Curiosity and Relationships in Nursing
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Back to the publications, references and DOI numbers (links):

• Delgado, C., Evans, A., Roche, M., & Foster, K. (2022). Mental health nurses' resilience in the context of emotional labour: An interpretive qualitative study. International Journal      of Mental Health Nursing, 31(5), 1260-1275.https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13037

• Delgado, C., Roche, M., Fethney, J., & Foster, K. (2021). Mental health nurses’ psychological well-being, mental distress, and workplace resilience: A cross-sectional survey. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 30, 1234-1247. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12874

• Delgado, C., Roche, M., Fethney, J., & Foster, K. (2020). Workplace resilience and emotional labour of Australian mental health nurses: Results of a national survey. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 29(1), 35-46.https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12598

• Delgado, C., Upton, D., Ranse, K., Furness, T., & Foster, K. (2017). Nurses’ resilience and the emotional labour of nursing work: An integrative review of empirical literature. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 70, 71-88.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2017.02.008

Working with resilience: https://www.workingwithresilience.com.au/ I used their individual scale in the research study.

Genos International – They focus on emotional intelligence at work: https://www.genosinternational.com/emotional-intelligence

The authors Cynthia mentioned regarding emotional labour are:

Arlie Hochschild – Coined the term emotional labour and wrote a book about it: The Managed Heart – Commercialisation of human feeling 

Catherine Theodosius – Expanded and applied the concept of emotional labour to nursing. Also wrote a book about it:  Emotional labour in health care: The unmanaged heart of nursing