Alastriss Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 Just a question about this..What if you haven't really been in a high pressure situation? I've been volunteering with St. John's for a while, getting my MFR soon, and I have to say I really haven't faced a high pressure situation at all. I just can't think of any example that isn't trivial. am I the only one without an example of this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostintime Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 Isn't this just a twist of "How would you deal with stress"? I don't think it has to be like "Omg, the fire is about to come into the house, I have 3 seconds to save this baby" type of high stress. Maybe even dealing with multiple commitments thrown at you over a short period of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogopogo Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 Admittedly, I am a pretty cynical individual. That aside, I deal with stress pretty darn well, I think. My trick is: No matter how dark, or ironic, or oddball it may be, there is humor in every situation. Find the humor, however small it may be, and latch on to it. Just an ounce of brevity in a stressful situation has gotten me through some truly terrible spots. Ultimately, having some way to vent is required. Art, music, a relationship, sports, volunteering, etc. some form of your own emotional expression must be maintained to keep yourself sane when living in a stressful situation all the time. This prevents you from bottling yourself up and exploding with your stress (trust me, if you don't vent, you will) and gives you focus. I remind everyone that this is not advice, merely my technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaysersoze Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 venting...masturbation potatoe..potaato Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacherlady Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 I think that everyone has had to deal with stress. Don't feel boxed in and assume that it has to be clinical in nature. I can tell you that my most recent stressful moment was when a 7-year-old started throwing chairs around my classroom and refused to stop. It was this internal panic: oh my goodness, he realizes that I can't really force him to do anything...what now?!? It had nothing to do with medicine (unless you count the fact that someone might have been hurt by a chair!). But it WAS a very stressful moment and it did force me to really think through my actions, both during and afterwards. Here are some things to think about. Maybe they'll jar your memory: - being overwhelmed by too many responsibilities - helping a friend or family member in trouble - being unprepared for something - being put on the spot by anyone (boss, professor, etc) - making a major decision - making a big mistake and having to 'fess up - any kind of culture shock - overwhelming financial responsibilities Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcgirl33 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 venting...masturbation potatoe..potaato LOL!! whatever calms you down, right and teacherlady -- i really love how you put "culture shock" in there. I think that although these effects tend to be silent, they are nonetheless stressful and can make an already high-pressure situation potentially explosive. Or implosive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacherlady Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Yeah, "teacher voice" almost always works. Which was why this was such a shock. Throwing pencils to be disruptive, I can handle. This little boy was completely out of control, having a violent meltdown. I don't think he even HEARD my teacher voice. I had to move my other students from the classroom for their own safety before diffusing the situation. Anyway, the follow-up was the most important (with parents, counsellors, administration, etc), and now this little boy is working so hard to stay in control of himself. I'm very proud of him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacherlady Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 If you end up staying in teaching, I'm sure that you'll get a few out of control kids at some point, but hopefully no more than one or two a decade! This is my fifth year of teaching, and I have NEVER had a child lose control like that. I have never even had a child flat out refuse to do as I tell him, even when I taught children with major behaviour problems. That's why I was so shocked! Anyway, it sounds like you're having a great experience in teacher's college so far and learning some strong classroom management skills. Even though you're planning on going to medical school, those skills will help you in just about any career! Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbene085 Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Find the humor, however small it may be, and latch on to it. Just an ounce of brevity in a stressful situation has gotten me through some truly terrible spots. I assume you mean levity. Though Shakespeare did say that brevity is the soul of wit! ...wow I'm a geek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacherlady Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 I love that middle schoolers are just big kids. Another silly rhyme is : "One, two, three, eyes on me" and the kids respond with "One, two, eyes on you". I really like your examples of how teaching is like medicine. I think that they're all important. But I also noticed that many of them are about personal qualities (multi-tasking, organization, etc) that could apply to most other professions. There are also some specific ways that teaching relates directly to health care, IMO. Here are a few examples that I can think of: - much medicine involves teaching someone about the behaviours that lead to better health - collaboration (between generalists, specialists, administration, parents, children, community agencies) is key in the school setting, as in the health field (except substitute patient for parent/child) - both professions require being a reflective and thoughtful practitioner - communication skills can be broken down into different situations: telling people things that they don't want to hear, public speaking, working closely with colleagues, etc - advocating for students can be analogous to advocating for patients - teaching is about relationships. Without a sense of safety, mutual respect and openness to questions, a student will not thrive. I think that the same thing is true for the doctor-patient relationship. Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogopogo Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 I assume you mean levity. Though Shakespeare did say that brevity is the soul of wit! ...wow I'm a geek. Wow good catch, my bad. I wouldn't be too worried about being a geek (...rolls 20-sided dice) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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