Anger is not the emotion one generally associates with nurses. In fact nurses hold one of the highest public esteems, with nurse's being seen as caring, capable and trustworthy. Nursing however has a lot to do with anger and anger is indeed an emotion many nurses experience whether they are aware of it or not. It needs to be noted that anger is just an emotion and within the 'normal' range of emotions. The issue with nurse's experience of anger however is that it is an emotion that is mismanaged on a number of fronts. This mismanagement ranges from how it is self managed by the nurse, how it is managed by others within the health care team and how it is managed by administrators and professional leaders.

Nurses experience anger in many different ways, some are not even aware they are in fact angry. I have generally been blessed with the colleagues and professionals I have shared my career with. Once in a while however I have encountered individuals who allowed their life to be driven by anger. The two that I most remember expressed their anger in different ways. One was a bully, their interactions defined by explosive bursts of rage and then a pre occupation with revenue. The other was at the passive aggressive end of the spectrum. Trying to interact with this particular person was like trying to talk with a brick wall. Their usual response to any question or comment was one of defense, defense, and then defense. The result of both ways of operating was damage to the relationships of those they worked with. I am sure also that the individuals themselves led less than optimal lives.

Nursing as a profession also has issues with how it deals with anger. As a profession we often go into the PLOM (poor little ol' me) mode. This deflects and prevents us taking ownership for our actions, or inactions and ultimately nursing's future.

The reason for nurse's anger? Well there are many. These include a feeling of 'not being heard' by those in management and leadership positions. Anger is also due to the intense workloads from caring for the needs of more patients who are sicker with more acute needs but who stay for shorter periods of time. This workload is made worse by the nursing shortage as more and more nurses choose to leave the profession. One of the largest reasons for nurses anger is a perceived lack of support. In a study conducted by Aiken, Clarke, Slone and Sochalski (1) lack of support was a predominant theme.

The core belief here at Nurses Self Care is however that managing our life the best that we can starts from the inside out. Acting from such a belief means we first need to deal with the victim mentality and poor professional esteem that underlies much of the issue for many nurses today.

Leave the victim mentality behind, stop playing at being a PLOM (poor little ol' me.) Appreciate the nursing knowledge you do have, build both your personal and professional esteem, and support those around you to do likewise.

* Take 100% responsibility for how you are feeling.
* Introduce the word choosing into your vocabulary, for example "I am choosing to feel angry" You will feel so much more empowered. Empowered enough even, to change how you feel.
* Increase your awareness
* Explore healthy ways to express your anger, such as talking it out, writing in down and movement or exercise
* Rethink your self care practices. Do you have a daily exercise routine? Do you eat well? Do you include relaxation activities into your daily schedule?
* Reach out and ask for help if your anger is affecting your life or the life of others.
* Become solution focused, redirect your anger into positive strategies that can improve nurses pay and working conditions. We all have a leadership role to play in making things better.

 COURTSY By -The team at http://www.nursesselfcare.com/