When i'm stressed I find it really difficult not to become a control freak with my kids and take over.
The classic would be in the kitchen when i'm rushing to make tea (this is not an everyday occurrence you understand but does happen quite often). One of the children will ask me if they can help and if i'm busy and stressed it seems easier to say "No" and avoid the mess I will have to clear up as they 'have a go' at something.
The same thing applies time and time again with a multitude of different tasks. If i'm stressed, i'm too busy trying to get through my To Do list to involve anybody else and let them make some mistakes by learning to do something, which in the end will make it easier for me.
The same thing applies at work 1000 times over. If we are overwhelmed every minute of the day, there is never a chance to show someone how to do something which you might do repeatedly but for them might be a new string to their bow and something more interesting in their work. Over the past few years at our practice we have trained the vast majority of our nurses in the following jobs:
1. Radiography (taking all radiographs)
2. CBCT - 2 of my nurses take all of my CBCTs, even the ones on the new machine now
3. Photography - all new patient photography is done by nurses at the practice
4. Initial checking of Medial Histories
5. Removal of sutures - we ran a competency based course where the nurses were signed off for 25 suture removals following a days training and now remove all of the sutures in the practice.
This has made an enormous difference because there are times when I am just left out of surgery while other things are done and I can then go looking for someone else to teach something to to make my life even easier again. But the main point is the joy that comes from showing someone how to do something and then watching them flourish, at times even becoming better than you were in the first place. My kids are 12, 10 and 6 and at 12 years old Grace has made her fair share of mess in the kitchen, cooking and baking with her mum but she is now a better cook than me.
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