Self-care is not selfish, especially for nurses
By Jennifer Larson, contributor
April 14, 2015 – Nursing is not a profession for the faint of heart–or body. Yet many nurses neglect self-care in their quest to help others.
If you’re not careful, your nursing job can negatively affect your health by causing or contributing to:
• Fatigue
• Stress
• Numbness or a lack of compassion
• Physical injury
• Unhealthy habits
Nursing can be an extremely rewarding job that provides a tremendous sense of satisfaction from helping people in need. But as caregivers by profession and often by nature, nurses have a tendency to put others first … and themselves last. Unfortunately, this can lead to exhaustion and even burnout.
Leslie Neal-Boylan, PhD, RN, APRN, noted that the nursing profession has a history of this type of behavior. “We seem to feel we have to work ourselves to death,” said Neal-Boylan, author of eight books on nursing, including 2014’s The Nurse’s Reality Shift: Using History to Transform the Future.
A basic tenet of self-care, however, is taking care of yourself so that you are able to take care of others. Mary Jo Assi, DNP, RN, FNP, director of nursing practice and work environment for the American Nurses Association (ANA), suggests thinking of the safety instructions that you receive when taking a flight on a commercial airline. “You need to put the oxygen mask on yourself before you can help others around you,” she explained.
Fortunately, there is quite a bit of evidence surrounding the importance of self-care for nurses; not only does it help nurses and their job satisfaction, but it improves patient outcomes, as well. “We do now have a lot more information based on evidence and research than we had prior,” Assi said.
Nurses can be proactive about improving their health, and ensuring their nursing job doesn’t undermine their efforts. Here are 10 suggestions that can help:
1. Remind yourself that it’s okay to take care of yourself. Self-care is not just okay, it’s absolutely necessary, said Assi. But it’s common for many nurses to put that out of their minds while they concentrate on their patients. “They’re just constantly focused on that, to the extent of blocking out everything else, including their own needs,” she said.
2. Get the appropriate medical care when necessary. Are you seeing your own health care provider for preventive care or care for any chronic conditions? Are you getting an annual flu vaccination? Taking care of your own body’s physical needs will help you be more available and more effective for your patients.
3. Get enough sleep. Adults should ideally get 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Shift work can sometimes interfere, but if you suspect you may have a sleep disorder or other underlying problem that’s making it hard to get enough rest, talk to your own health care provider.
4. Eat healthful foods. No one’s saying you can’t have dessert or a fun snack from time to time, but committing to eating a balanced diet that’s heavy on fruits, vegetables, lean protein and whole grains can give you a better shot at staying healthy. Just like you tell your patients. You can bring a healthy meal to work, if the options in your workplace leave a lot to be desired, or you could speak to management about offering healthier fare.
5. Quit smoking. A study published in the January 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that the rates of smoking among RNs dropped by one-third between 2003 and 2007. But many RNs, and even more LPNs, are still hooked. If you’re one of them, investigate smoking cessation resources to support you in your effort to quit and provide a good example for your patients.
6. Speak up. If you notice something that is a potential hazard to your health or the health of one of your colleagues, speak up! This includes any examples of workplace violence and bullying. If you assume that someone else will say something, it’s possible that everyone else is assuming the same thing. Talk to your manager or nursing leaders.
7. Say “no.” Assi pointed out that recent research shows the detrimental effects of working too much. In fact, a 2012 study authored by Amy Witkoski Stimpfel, Douglas M. Sloane, and Linda H. Aiken in Health Affairs, found that “[t]he odds of burnout and job dissatisfaction were up to two and a half times higher for nurses who worked longer shifts than for nurses who worked shifts of 8–9 hours.” Additionally, when nurses work longer shifts, patient satisfaction rates tend to decrease. So it’s not a bad thing to decline an extra shift or overtime hours that will both exhaust you and leave you unable to care effectively for your patients. Nurses need to be able to say “I need to have this day to rest and rejuvenate,” said Neal-Boylan.
8. Support each other. If you’ve ever worked in a place where nurses undermined each other, this will resonate for you. A supportive work environment is crucial to making nurses feel comfortable taking the breaks that they need to eat, use the bathroom, get some fresh air, take a walk or even just decompress for a few moments, said Neal-Boylan. If you’re a manager, you can make it clear that you support your nurses in taking care of themselves and won’t tolerate people talking about others behind their backs for taking a needed break.
9. Ask for emotional support. Sometimes, this can start with assessing how tired you are. “If you are physically drained, you are much more prone to things like burnout and compassion fatigue,” said Assi. You may be able to get support or help from your organization’s employee assistance program or pastoral counseling department.
10. Abide by safe patient handling recommendations. Nearly two-thirds of the nurses surveyed in the 2011 ANA Health and Safety Survey said they were worried about experiencing a disabling musculoskeletal injury on the job–and for good reason: statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that registered nurses are in the top five professions that experience this type of workplace injury and miss work as a result. Since manual patient handling is hazardous to your health, be sure to use the proper equipment and technology to move patients instead. You can also refer to the ANA’s standards for safe patient handling and mobility that were released in 2013 for more guidance.
© 2015. AMN Healthcare, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
