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Defining your boundaries

Stressed Out Nurses Weekly, July 30, 2007

When should you speak and when should you be silent? What conversations should you engage in and which ones should you let slide? Are you taking something too personally and being too sensitive, or is another nurse attacking your integrity? Nurse-to-nurse communication must sit within some framework. The first step is to define your boundaries.

Having a code of conduct sets a clear picture of your own personal boundary line. Any step across this line requires communication-even if it's something as subtle as eye-rolling. Any actions or words that make you feel less than the capable and caring nurse you are demands communication. Now you know when to walk away (when one nurse is slamming another face to face) and when to engage (defending a nurse who is not present). Every time someone crosses that line and you do not communicate its effect, you lose a little more self-esteem-and by your silence, you endorse the behavior.

Gossip be gone!

Bullies and people who make others' lives miserable exist in every profession. Gossip is toxic. It is a lethal poison that kills the morale of an entire unit. Underneath the storytelling is one cold, hard fact that no one says out loud: "If this person is gossiping about another person, he or she could be talking about me, too." The workplace then becomes a dangerous place where it is not safe to express yourself for fear of judgment or retaliation.

Here are some tips to help you keep your workplace healthy:

• No discussion concerning another person can take place if that person isn't present.
• All issues must pertain to a behavior that threatens the mission of the organization, including patient safety and professional values.

For more of this story (plus a whole lot more!), please click here.

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