Hobbie for Nurses

Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

Hobbie for NursesAuthor(s): Virginia PowersSource: The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 41, No. 8 (Aug., 1941), pp. 926-928Published by: Lippincott Williams & WilkinsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3414896 .

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Hobbies for Nurses By VIRGINIA POWERs, R.N.

New Jersey State Hospital, Greystone Park, New Jersey

WHEN I ASKED a number of nurses, "Do you have a hobby?" the majority shook their heads. But I do not believe that any nurse is without a hobby of some sort, al- though she may not consider it one. It depends largely on how we define the word. A hobby is a subject, pursuit, or avocation in which a person takes a per- sistent interest. Some hobbies are sea- sonal, such as bicycle riding and swimming, and are dropped for a period to be resumed again the next year. One need not spend i great deal of time in order to have a satisfactory hobby. Collecting may require only a few minutes each day, or days or weeks of search and study.

I have found that women in other pro- fessions-stenographers, librarians, and school teachers-spend more time and money on hobbies than nurses do. A hobby for the nurse seems to have so little bearing on her life. Is this because her unconscious motives are so well satis- fied during her work that she does not need diversion? This may be true for long periods of time when she is engaged in work that is intensely satisfying and that goes smoothly. But often there comes a time when she encounters prob- lems that cause her to become irritable and weary. A patient may, for some un- known reason, upset her. Perhaps a super- visor must work with a student nurse with whom inexplicable difficulties arise. Temporarily there may be no solution to the problem, and yet neither can obtain as much satisfaction from her work as she needs. These are the times when one feels the need of diversion and finds release from tension in a hobby.

Even if the nurse feels no particular need for a hobby, it is important for her to develop one. It will help her to make a

better adjustment in her work and in her social relations. It will help her to make new friends and to keep from sinking into a monotonous rut.

Many factors enter into the nurse's choice of a hobby. Her individual make- up influences her personal needs. The domestic type will want to take care of someone. She will tend to bear a protec- tive, motherly attitude to those about her. She may find herself becoming too attached to her patients for their best good or her own. This excess of mother- liness might be expressed outside of her work by an interest in a neighbor's child or children for whom she would enjoy making inexpensive toys or with whom she could play or tell stories. A very satisfying hobby for one nurse of this type was found through her interest in elderly people. She enjoyed visiting and assisting them in many considerate ways. She be- lieved the reason for this hobby was that she had a grandmother who was quite old, yet very dear and sweet. She hoped that when she, herself, must grow old she would do so as charmingly.

The domestic type is interested in home decorating. Many a drab and bar- ren room has been made a cheerful and attractive home by the addition of pil- lows, flowers, and curtains. Some nurses like to sew and can make beautiful draperies and chair covers by spending a small amount on materials. Remnants pieced together by one's own hands can be much more satisfactory than curtains designed by a shop. Others like to have an apartment or home where they can prepare luncheons and dinners for their friends. With a kitchen of their own they are happy preparing special dishes from recipes which they have collected.

926 VOL. 41, No. 8



Hobbies for Nurses 92.7

The choice of a hobby should fit the individual's interests and talents. Some find relaxation in doing rough work as with wood or metal, while others enjoy fine, intricate work such as lace making. Some work with paints where they can be free to smear paper, table, and clothes, in contrast to their usual immaculate- ness; others combine colors and materials in weaving and knitting. And there are those who like the more passive experience of listening to music.

The psychiatrist Freud, in his study of the unconscious mind, found that every individual has strivings and desires which are repressed in childhood and do not receive adequate expression. To be a well adjusted person these strivings should be released in socially approved ways such as hobbies can afford. This ex-

plains why mature people often take

pleasure in quite childlike pursuits during their leisure. While working in a hos-

pital or sick room it is a nurse's duty to be scrupulously clean and tidy, but she may find a great release of tension in a

hobby which is not concerned with ap- pearances and enables her to be as un- trammeled and as carefree as she wishes.

A nurse may work with individuals or patients who, because of their behavior, stimulate feelings of hostility in her. A

display of feelings would be unprofes- sional, yet as a human being she needs some release for her emotions. In a hobby, such as an active sport, she can work out her aggressions without guilt and release her tension instead of bottling it up. Whatever the occupation chosen it should permit her to return to her work with a feeling of ease and objectivity toward her unruly patients.

The passive, quiet nurse is apt to enjoy a hobby such as knitting or carving wood, while the aggressive individual will experience release by expressing herself verbally in dramatics or debate. If she is cast in an aggressive r61e quite un- like her daily life, she will be all the more

likely to work out her feelings of hostility through the action of the play, rather than toward her patients. In this way she will be externalizing strong emotions in an approved manner.

The nurse need not choose a destruc- tive or aggressive activity in order to release tension, however. Often her strong- est urge is to create something, but she is deterred by her lack of ability. Even a very small and worthless object may be a source of much satisfaction by proving to her that she is capable of making something. It gives her a feeling of security and happiness far out of proportion to its intrinsic beauty or value. The type of individual who likes to create usually likes to give, and the pleasure that her friends get out of her homemade gifts is an addi- tional satisfaction, because it makes her feel liked.

A hobby is an excellent means by which phantasies and day dreams may be

played out. The nurse may have the desire to be someone very gay and dazzling who dances and sings; or she may desire to escape from her active daily routine and to be sad, dreamy, and thoughtful. She cannot express these ideals freely when on duty but through a hobby such as writing poetry or short stories, or by studying ballet, or by listening to sym- phonic music the emotions centering around unrealizable ambitions are ab- sorbed. A general staff nurse may wish to be someone of great importance and

authority but she has not been able to reach such a goal in her profession. For her there are clubs in which she may seek honors and offices and wear badges of authority.

The amount of money which a nurse feels she can spend on a hobby is a prac- tical problem. Many nurses think their salary is insufficient to enable them to have outside interests, but a little observation and thought will prove that there are diversions which cost less than the motion pictures she regularly attends.

AUGUST 1941



928 The American Journal of Nursing Writing is a hobby which requires very little outlay. Letter writing, for example, costs little more than the price of stamps, and the reward of friends who are brought nearer by her letters is lavish.

The Y.W.C.A. in many cities offers lessons in swimming, dancing, and gym- nastics at a very low fee. In most cities there are tennis courts and playgrounds free to the public.

If you have talent and interest in learn- ing a skill, any one of a number of sports may be developed into a lasting hobby. Ice skating is fascinating recreation. In- creasing skill gives self-confidence and opportunity for friendships to develop. An occasional horseback ride is a novelty; but when one takes a deeper interest in studying methods of riding, kinds of horses and their habits, goes to horse fairs, or takes a pack trip in the mountains, she has developed a hobby that constantly opens up new vistas.

Collecting can be an expensive hobby or it can cost almost nothing. Stamps may be obtained from interested friends or by exchange through the mail. Many collectors study not only the stamps but the year in which they were printed and the historical events connected with the designs. There are numerous ramifica- tions which every hobby involves, en- abling it to be extended indefinitely.

A little girl of eight collected dolls for two years. She gathered two hundred and twenty-five dolls from all parts of the world, each dressed in a native costume. She is delighted to display the exhibit and without the least shyness she tells large groups of people how she obtained

each doll and where it came from. Al- though she has already benefited greatly in the knowledge gained and in personal- ity development, this pleasure need not be outgrown. As an adult she may con- tinue to add to her display and to the store of information and contacts result- ing from it.

Some nurses have hobbies which they started when they were children but dropped later because they did not have the leisure or opportunity to carry them on while they were in nursing school. Perhaps they thought that they had outgrown such childish ideas, but graduate nurses might well reconsider the interests that once engrossed them, with a view to continuing them. For the nurse who likes to be out of doors, gathering leaves, or cacti, or stones, will be a con- structive objective requiring little time or mental or physical energy. It may lead to travel during vacations in order to obtain new specimens or to see other collec- tions. Though most nurses do not have a yard for gardening, they can all substi- tute potted plants and window boxes in their rooms, and few hobbies are more satisfying than growing things.

Nearly every nurse has some hobby, but many do not reap the rewards they could from their avocation because they are unaware of its value or of why they have chosen it. Observation shows us that hobbies satisfy unconscious strivings which are repressed or release tension caused by aggressive impulses. Whether or not the nurse realizes it, her hobbies are a means of maintaining her mental health and enriching her life.

VoL. 4i, No. 8



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Hobbie for Nurses