Many new parents struggle with the idea that they might lose their identity when they bring a child into the world. You may have gone from being a successful accountant to teaching your children how to count from your dining room table, or you might have thrived in an office role, and now you’re scraping playdough off the carpet.
It’s essential to understand that parenting doesn’t make you lose skills; it allows you to learn new ones. It may even make you realize that a career change could be in order with all these new-found parenting skills. Have you ever wondered whether your knack for caring for a child could cross over into a nursing career? Consider the possibility that the following new parenting skills could open an entirely new set of doors for you.
A Caring Manner
You care about how your kids are feeling. You worry when they’re sad, and you tend to their needs when they’re sick. These same skills can be required in a nursing role. Being caring doesn’t automatically make you the best candidate for nursing schools. Still, it can make you more personable to your patients who are possibly experiencing one of the most traumatic times of their lives.
Empathy
Empathy is an integral part of parenthood. When your children feel sad, frustrated, or angry, being able to validate those feelings and accept them can help your children feel heard. You can use those same empathic skills in a nursing role. Being able to see each patient as a person, not a number, and understanding their feelings can put them at ease. Your person-centered approach could make a significant difference to a scared, sick, and frustrated patient.
Communication Skills
It’s only natural for a parent to want to hear about their child’s day. Sometimes, you also have to relay what your children tell you to their other mom or dad, or even their teachers. This skill is one you can transfer into a nursing role. This career path relies on you to efficiently communicate your patient’s needs to other healthcare providers for safe and effective care. You may have to listen carefully to their symptoms and pain levels, ask about any allergies to medication, then make sure the right people hear this information.
Stamina
After carrying a child around for nine months, you know the meaning of stamina. That heavy lifting doesn’t end when you give birth, either. You then have to carry around a newborn while managing your recovery, then wrangle a toddler. As a parent, you’re bound to have plenty of stamina. This might come in useful if you decide to embark on a nursing career. Every working day requires you to have incredible emotional and physical stamina over the average 12-hour shift.
Time Management Skills
You’ll likely find yourself saying at least once as a new parent that there are never enough hours in the day. However, somehow, you make it work. You make sure your children get to school and extracurricular activities on time and that they eat at roughly the same time every evening. These are time management skills you may not realize can assist in almost any career path. It can often be a race against time on the front line. Every second counts, and your ability to manage each moment can serve you well when you’re trying to provide your patients with the best care possible.
Eagerness to Learn
Because the healthcare industry is changing all the time, nurses need to change with it. Best practices evolve, and even the technology we use to provide optimal care can change quickly. Being eager to learn about each stage of new healthcare may mean you can give the best patient care. An eagerness to learn is also found in parenting. You want to make sure you’re doing right by your child, so you’re continually learning new parenting methods that benefit your children.
Experience
Your experiences in childbirth and childrearing can serve you well in a nursing role – particularly with new mothers in your care. You can empathize with what they’re going through, which means you may be able to offer treatment options you know provide relief from your own experience. Your experience with children can also put you in good stead when assisting young patients. You may be able to use the same soothing techniques you adopt with your own children with your patients who require the same approach.
Rather than lose your identity by becoming a new mother, you can end up learning new skills that allow you to create a new one. You may be surprised at just how many of your parenting techniques can serve you well in the healthcare industry.
