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Surgical Tech Breaks- SurgicalTechSuccess
February 01, 2006
Hi,

I've changed the format of the Surgical Tech Success Newsletter.

Please let me know what you think...

In today's Newsletter:


Taking a Break~
Resource of the Week
What's New -Help Wanted

~Taking A Break~

Do you actually realize how important it is as a surgical professional to take a break and recharge your brain cells.

Working in a surgical environment can be a lot of fun, BUT it can also be extremely stressful at times.

Very often surgical professionals get caught up with their work schedule or class schedule or case load to such a degree that they become overwhelmed and they start to break down.

By breaking down, I don't mean that they crawl up in a corner in a fetal position and literally break down.

What I mean is that their nerves start to wear thin or their moods start to get a little grumpy or their hyper-sensitive to the slightest constructive feedback.

Believe me, it happens to students, educators, and expereinced surgical techs in the field.

To protect yourself, and possibly the relationship you have with your co-workers and peers, simply take a little break from the stress every now and then.

A break can be something as simple as going into a quiet area, taking a deep breath as you stretch your arms to the ceiling, and exhaling slowly as you bring your arms back down.

It's amazing how a "good morning" stretch while taking a few deep breaths can relieve a ton of stress.

But if you think your stress level has gotten to the point where a little deep breathing won't correct things, maybe it's time to take a break and get out of your surgical head for a bit.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up with our workload or studies that we start to neglect or own health and little by little stress starts to overtake us.

That's why a break is extremely important, especially being a surgical professional.

The demands we put on ourselves to learn about Surgical Technology even after school, or educate surgical techs, or work in the field can really have an affect on our own well being.

Listen, I consult surgical techs on a daily basis. I'm constantly working on my website and always thinking about how I can improve things and find the best resources for surgical techs everywhere.

There are times I even dream about my work schedule and wake up feeling like I was in the office all night.

That's when I have to force myself to take a break from the computer and anything surgically related.

I'll go to a movie, spend an extra 10 minutes stretching at the gym, give my dogs a little extra attention, lay on the couch and watch a few videos, or even take a workshop at the local communtiy center involving anything but surgery.

My point is that I do something to try to balance myself a bit and take a break from my main workload.

It amazed me how much more productive I became at work when I realized how overwhelmed I was getting and took action to try to re-balance my life.

You need to take a break every now and then.

Now, I'm not saying to become a couch potato, or stop studying or preparing for class, or call in sick every week, but I am suggesting that you listen to your body and realize when you need a break.

Maybe you just finished a long difficult case, go outside or even in the locker room and take a few deep breaths.

Maybe you just finished a big exam or have been studying day and night all week, do yourself a favor and put the books down so you can relax your mind and absorb some of the info you just learned.

Maybe you just finsihed teaching a class who just doesn't seem to get anything you're teaching, don't let that feeling of frustration eat at you, go into your office and reach for the ceiling while deep breathing.

I'm telling you, the smallest break can do wonders for your mind and body.

Don't let the inevitable stress of being a surgical professional deter you from moving forward.

AND especially don't let your stress level build to such a point that it starts to affect the relationship you have with your surgical peers.

We all know how difficult a surgeon, or circulator, or mentor, or student, or educator can be sometimes. After all we are human and stress does affect everybody.

Recognize the signs of stress, don't overwork yourself and take a break every now and then.

Once you learn to deal with the stress factors inherent in every surgical setting, you'll be a much happier and healthy surgical professional.

One last thing, I've added two small sections at the end of this newsletter -Resource of the Week- & What's New-. Read past the p.s. and you'll pick up some additional superior information.

Until Next Time~

Your friend,

Robert Prince

www.SurgicalTechSuccess.com

p.s. Don't forget to take a look at the recently released hardcopy of the Surgical Tech Success Handbook:

http://www.lulu.com/content/218918

https://www.surgicaltechsuccess.com/stshorder.html

You can also still download the eBook package here:

https://www.surgicaltechsuccess.com/stshorder.html


"The only time you ever have in which to learn anything or see anything or feel anything, or express any feeling or emotion, or respond to an event, or grow, or heal, is this moment, because this is the only moment any of us ever gets. You're only here now; you're only alive in this moment." - Marianne Williamson


Resource of the Week
Many people received the following resource in an earlier newsletter, but I've gotten a lot of requests about republishing this link.

http://www.or-live.com/


WHAT'S NEW - HELP WANTED!
We will be launching an employment page/help wanted section in the near future.

But just to start things off, I received a request to notify you of the following available position:

Surgical Technology Instructors Wanted

Location: Eagan, MN

Contact: Stephanie.Goldman@rasmussen.edu

Website: www.rasmussen.edu

About out company: Rasmussen College Inc. is a regionally accredited school with five locations across Minnesota with corporate offices in Mpls, Orlando, and Chicago. Rasmussen College was founded in 1900 by Walter Rasmussen to meet the needs of businesses in St. Paul, Minnesota. By concentrating on career-focused education, the college was able to immediately place graduates into jobs in the community, benefiting both employer and graduate.

Rasmussen College prides itself on providing excellence in education and world-class service to our students. Our programs educate students and arm them with the real-world skills they need to improve their lives. We couple this education with initial and ongoing career placement support services allowing students to put their education to work. Simply put, our approach to education prepares Rasmussen graduates for the realities they encounter in the workplace today, as well as the changes they will encounter tomorrow.

Stephanie Goldman

Director of Employee Recruitment

Rasmussen College, Inc.

(630) 366-2932 phone (630) 366-2803 fax

stephanie.goldman@rasmussen.edu

www.rasmussen.edu

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