Did you know that self-care is mandated by the American Nurses Association? The fifth provision of the American Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics states that the moral respect that nurses extend to all human beings “extends to oneself as well: the same duties that we owe to others we owe to ourselves.”
These duties include the responsibility to:
- Promote health and safety
- Preserve wholeness of character and integrity
- Maintain competence
- Continue personal and professional growth
Does your nursing organization require self-care for you as well?
Every nurse needs a BREAK ROOM, a respite, some time out. Check out some fresh ideas with hands-on, short interventions you can use to help decrease your stress.
Nurses cannot provide what they do not possess. Working with patients in crisis or who are struggling physically, emotionally, and spiritually can be overwhelming work. Taking care of one’s own needs is a necessity for longevity. Self-care is how busy professionals prevent burn out. You became a nurse to make a difference, self-care is your secret weapon to ward off compassion fatigue, stress, and weariness. It is cold water on a hot summer day and your favorite sweater on a chilly morning. Curl up with a cupper and take a BREAK. Relax and rewind because it is a required responsibility of your nursing role. This is your invitation to explore.
Enjoy!
Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
Self-care can include myriad practices that you find both enjoyable and that in some way promote your physical, emotional, spiritual, or mental health. According to the definition from the World Health Organization, self-care is the behaviors you do to take care of your own health and can include hygiene, nutrition, leisure activities, sports, exercise, seeking professional healthcare services when needed, and much more. This is a sample of interventions that may not be in your daily self-care routine. There are endless podcasts, webinars, and videos to explore. Some interventions are paired with evidence based research to increase your understanding. Caring for you is scientifically supported. Explore and find the things you find most fun.
The experiences of health-care providers during the COVID-19 crisis in China: a qualitative study
https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2214-109X%2820%2930204-7
44 Top Self-Care Tips for Taking Care of You During the Coronavirus Pandemic
The Ultimate Guide to Self-Care for Nurses
https://www.registerednursing.org/ultimate-guide-self-care-nurses/
Self-love
Poetry
Aromatherapy
Music
Breathing
Environment
The break room, created for you by:
Charon Burda
DNP, CRNP, PMHNP-BC, CARN-AP
Dr. Burda is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. She is the Director of the DNP Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Specialty. Her clinical practice is in an all NP owned and operated practice. Certified as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner she has total autonomy, including prescriptive authority. Her federal and local workforce development and educational grants enhance addiction and mental health nursing education and experience. Her latest publications written for advanced practice nurses address the issues of stigma in language and screening for trauma. An IntNSA Board member since 2017 she proudly represents the mission as Member at Large until 2021. An active advocate for all nurses she is a strong proponent of self-care and lifelong learning.
