Although a career in travel nursing is one of the best ways to combine your passion for your career with your love of different hobbies and interests, it is also an exhausting and stressful job.
You often live far away from family and friends. You might work longer days and have less time off than normal. You could be caring for patients who are sicker than you can mentally handle.
Positive affirmations for travel nurses are crucial for helping combat negative thoughts and give you the courage and optimism you need to face the day.
Practice these positive affirmations to help…
- Fight your inner critic
- Deal with stress and anxiety; and
- Battle burnout
… and learn how to create positive affirmations of your own.
Table of Contents
- Why Positive Affirmations Are Often Crucial for Travel Nurses
- Positive Affirmations for Travel Nurses To Help Silence Your Inner Critic
- Positive Affirmations for Travel Nurses To Help Fight Stress and Anxiety
- Positive Affirmations for Travel Nurses To Fight Burnout
- How To Create Your Own Positive Nursing Affirmations
- Find a Positive Travel Nursing Experience With Trusted Nurse Staffing
Why Positive Affirmations Are Often Crucial for Travel Nurses
Nurses face many challenges that impact both their physical and mental health, so using positive affirmations in the nursing world is essential.
Because travel nurses are often…
- Away from family and friends for many weeks at a time
- Constantly uprooting their lives for work; and
- Working in high-demand and stressful situations
… creating a positive and healthy work environment by practicing positive affirmations can help them stay optimistic about their current situations and the future of their career.
So how do travel nurses stay positive? With hopes of more job opportunities for travel nurses on the rise, higher salaries, and more flexible work environments, regularly using positive affirmations for travel nurses could be essential.
Are you searching for opportunities as a travel nurse? Trusted Nurse Staffing can help you find a flexible career with contracts throughout the United States. Contact us today to get started.
Positive Affirmations for Travel Nurses To Help Silence Your Inner Critic
We all have one. That little voice inside your head that produces feelings of shame, low self-esteem, or deficiency. Your inner critic can really take a toll on your mental state and quickly bring you down.
There are said to be seven different types of inner critics that people are often troubled by. They’re known as:
- Perfectionist
- Inner Controller
- Taskmaster
- Underminer
- Destroyer
- Guilt-Tripper; and
- Conformist
As a travel nurse, you face daily challenges or tasks that can leave you dealing with one of these seven critics regularly. To combat these feelings, try practicing some positive affirmations.
I’m Making a Difference
You probably decided to become a travel nurse because you possess the qualities of a good nurse. You might be:
- Hardworking
- Smart
- Compassionate
- Even-tempered
- Empathetic
- Optimistic
- An effective communicator; or
- Curious
You’ve then learned the skills and gained the knowledge to become part of the backbone of the healthcare system. You make a difference in the lives of patients and their families every single day.
Remember that.
When you’re feeling tired, burned out, or ready to throw in the towel, repeat, “I am making a difference.”
I’m Proud of Myself and the Work I Do
You didn’t just wake up one day and snap your fingers and become a nurse. You earned it.
You went to school and earned your degree.
You passed the NCLEX exam.
You obtained your license.
You underwent training.
Your skills, your smarts, and your great qualities got you where you are, and you should be proud of that. Repeat, “I am proud of myself and the work that I do.”
Additional Affirmations for Your Inner Critic
If you find yourself struggling with your inner critic, many other positive affirmations for travel nurses can be helpful. Try:
- “I am powerful.”
- “I am beautiful.”
- “I am loved.”
- “I am worthy of receiving ____.”
- “I love who I am.”
- “I am great at my job.”
- “I was made to become a nurse.”
Positive Affirmations for Travel Nurses To Help Fight Stress and Anxiety
Nurses face daily struggles that contribute to the stress and anxiety around their job. Things like…
- Being understaffed
- The impending loss of patients
- The pressure to give proper care
- Toxic or difficult workplaces
- And more
… can add up to a stressful burden that’s too heavy to carry.
Being able to recognize the triggers for stress and anxiety is critical to dealing with it properly. As a travel nurse, you could seek advice from mentors or talk with a therapist and ensure you are getting the proper fuel and sleep to help encourage good health.
But a simple and effective method for dealing with stress and anxiety as a travel nurse is to practice positive affirmations.
I Will Stay Calm
Nurses face many obstacles during their shifts that can quickly cause stress and anxiety. Having methods in place to help stay calm, level-headed, and grounded can help you focus on yourself and your patients and help you navigate the best way to accomplish what you need to at that moment.
Picture this:
You’re administering medicine to a patient. While in their room, a family member is nailing you down with question after question. Suddenly, another patient is ringing you to come to their room right away. You finish with your current patient without rushing through your care, but your pager hasn’t stopped. As you turn to exit their room, you slam into the doctor as he’s entering. You’re becoming frazzled and trying not to lose your cool.
Practice saying, “I will stay calm.”
I Won’t Stress Over What I Can’t Control
A major stressor for nurses is dealing with things that are out of their control. As situations start to unravel and become unpredictable, your work environment might become more difficult to navigate. Focus on what you can control, and it might seem easier to make it through your day.
As a nurse, what can you control in stressful situations?
- Your attitude
- How you interact with patients
- How you choose to react
- The way you carry yourself
Repeat after me, “I won’t stress over what I cannot control.”
Additional Affirmations To Help Fight Stress and Anxiety
Working to reframe your negative thoughts can be beneficial when you’re facing stressful situations. Try these positive affirmations for travel nurses dealing with stress and anxiety:
- “I am capable.”
- “I can handle things one at a time.”
- “I trust myself and what I am doing.”
- “I am in control.”
- “I am doing the best that I can.”
- “I am calm and relaxed.”
- “I am confident in what I am doing.”
- “I am good at what I do.”
Positive Affirmations for Travel Nurses To Fight Burnout
When nurses are fighting burnout, they are mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted. The high-stress environment of their jobs leaves them feeling like they can’t give anymore.
Burnout in travel nurses can be caused by…
- Long work hours
- Lack of sleep
- Lack of support
- Stressful situations; and
- Emotional strain
… and can lead to low quality of care.
In addition to taking frequent or longer work breaks and seeking support, travel nurses can practice positive affirmations to help combat impending burnout.
I’m Energized and Ready for the Day
You’re a travel nurse and working a contract 1,500 miles away from your family. You’re five weeks into your contract and beginning to feel the stressors of the job bringing you down. You’re tired, you miss your family, and the patients you’re caring for are very sick.
Instead of waking in the morning and heading into work with a no-can-do attitude, practice saying affirmations in the morning that will help motivate you and set the tone for a positive day.
Repeat, “I’m energized and ready for the day.”
This Too Shall Pass
As a travel nurse working a timed contract, you may find that you’re working a lot in a short amount of time. Your days are extra long, you work back-to-back-to-back shifts, and your next day off seems so far out of reach.
But your patients and your coworkers are counting on you to put your best foot forward and forge through the day.
If you’re feeling tired, stressed, and ready to call it quits, repeat, “This too shall pass.”
Additional Affirmations To Fight Burnout
If you’re a travel nurse fighting burnout, try these positive affirmations to help get you through your day:
- “I am resilient.”
- “I am a better nurse today than I was yesterday.”
- “I am not afraid to ask for help.”
- “I was made to be a nurse.”
- “I am fulfilled by my job.”
- “I am making a difference.”
- “I will not be broken.”
- “I have set healthy boundaries.”
How To Create Your Own Positive Nursing Affirmations
Maybe you feel many of these positive affirmations aren’t fitting to you and your job as a travel nurse. That’s okay! Practicing positive self-talk that is personal to you is important and will be far more beneficial than repeating phrases you don’t feel connected to.
By recognizing your values and what is important to you, the stressors you face, and doing a bit of self-reflection, you can create a list of positive affirmations that can be helpful to you as a travel nurse.
Step 1: Brainstorm negative thoughts that you’d like to improve.
Think about your actions, your thoughts about yourself, or how you react to situations. Maybe you recognize that you are sensitive to criticism. You might not like the way you speak to your coworkers when you begin to feel overwhelmed. Maybe your bedside manner suffers when you’re having a bad day.
Step 2: Think about how you can rephrase these negative thoughts into positive affirmations.
Positive affirmations are stated in the present, and even if they are negative thoughts, they can be reframed to sound positive.
Instead of saying, “I am rude to my coworkers when I feel overwhelmed,” you can say, “When I am overwhelmed at work, I choose to consider how my coworkers must also be feeling.”
Instead of saying, “I take criticism personally,” try saying, “I am thankful for the criticisms of my peers because they help me become a better nurse.”
Instead of saying, “I have terrible bedside manners when I am having a bad day,” try saying, “I am capable of being the best nurse possible to my patients, even if I am having a tough day.”
As you brainstorm these positive affirmations, write them down.
Step 3: Practice repeating your positive affirmations with emotion.
Brainstorming new positive affirmations is one thing, but they’re not helpful if you don’t learn how to say them in a meaningful way. Repeat your new affirmations a few times a day while looking in the mirror. This helps to recognize the feelings and emotions behind your affirmations and allows you to embody the powerful phrases personal to you.
Now when you need to use them, you can easily recall one fitting to your situation and remember the way it makes you feel.
Find a Positive Travel Nursing Experience With Trusted Nurse Staffing
Travel nursing can be stressful, exhausting, and sometimes lonely. But nurses often like the idea of travel nursing because it allows more time to do the things you love to do. Whether it be…
- Taking adventures
- Exercising
- Getting lost in a good book
- Exploring new places; or
- Watching movies
… travel nurse contracts allow the flexibility to be passionate about your career and your hobbies.
Maybe you haven’t had positive travel nursing experiences in the past. At Trusted Nurse Staffing, we work hard to find you assignments that are the right fit for you. Have questions? Find out everything you need to know here.