From Booking Shifts To Baby Bottles – My Maternity Leave Journey

Hello everyone, my name is Máire and for those of you who are familiar with me as your nursing agency recruiter-lovely to be back with you. To the new nurse faces-very excited to have you onboard the Clarity team and look forward to working with you. I’m just back after a year of maternity leave. I had a beautiful baby girl, Maya, on the 15th April 2024. She’s a year old now and full of toddler sass!

Coming back from maternity leave has been a bit like returning from a rollercoaster adventure. Over the past year, I’ve swapped Google sheets for sleep schedules, interviews for endless nappy changes, and team meetings for 3 a.m. feeding marathons. And while I may have returned with a few more baby photos in my camera roll (and under-eye circles to match), I’ve also come back with a fresh perspective and a deep respect for our hardworking nursing Mothers.

The past year has been the most intense crash course in multitasking, resilience, patience, and empathy I could ever imagine. Here’s a few things maternity leave taught me that I’m now bringing forward into nursing agency recruitment:

• Prioritisation Under Pressure: Nothing sharpens your ability to prioritise quite like a hungry baby and a pile of housework! I’ve mastered the art of juggling multiple needs-something that comes in very handy when handling fast-paced shift bookings and last-minute changes.
• Time Management: Babies have no concept of schedules-but funnily enough I have become more structured and time aware than ever. I’ve learned how to make the most of small windows of time and work smarter. Time is our most precious resource!
• Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Becoming a Mother has made me a better listener and a more understanding communicator-skills that are so important as a nursing recruiter when supporting our nurses and clients alike.
• Flexibility and Adaptability: Just when you think you’re figuring motherhood out, another curveball gets thrown your way! This has helped me become more resilient and pivot quickly to adapt to the changing situations. A mindset that’s incredibly useful in the ever-changing world of healthcare staffing.
• Perspective and Purpose: Maternity leave reminded me once again how important our nurses and carers really are. I have worked as a nurse myself in the past but it gave me a deeper appreciation for the work when I was on the receiving end of this care. This job is not just about filling jobs but also about being part of providing high quality healthcare and excellence in what we do.

So while I may have been “off” in the technical sense, in many ways, the past few months have made me better equipped for the job. I return with renewed energy (caffeine helps), sharper instincts, and a more compassionate outlook-not to mention the ability to get a surprising amount done one-handed.

Big thank you to all our nurses for your hard work while I was off-look forward to working with you again!

If you are interested in agency nursing shifts with Clarity Locums please pop me a message.

Contact Máire