Action Cures Fear

Every once in a while I get an RT student who's afraid to do anything.  She or he may be afraid to do an ABG, or an EKG, or even a simple breathing treatment.  Yet my rule for new RTs who are supposed to do certain therapies is the following:

1. Show you once
2. Watch me once
3. Do it

Most RTs, at least the ones I work with, are really good teachers.  We understand the different personalities, and we cater our "how to do it" lecture to the patient.  Yet there comes a time when there's nothing else you can teach, and the only thing left to do is to just do it.

Yet what do you do for the RT student who is still hesitant?  What I say is this:  "Action Cures Fear.  If you're afraid of something, tackle it.  Then you'll feel better about it."

That's something I read in a book written many years ago called, "The Magic of Thinking Big," by David J. Schwartz (1959).  It was a self help book a sales professor encouraged me to read back in 1993 when I was still in college and not sure if I had the confidence to succeed in the business world.  The book had many useful tips, the most important of which was the chapter on:  "Action Cures Fear."  

I can see this advice being used in a variety of situations, which would include any person who has a fear of just about anything.  If you're afraid of it, just do it.  I think we all have our own experiences in this regard, including myself.  What about you?

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