Feeling a little tired every now and then might be natural but burning out calls for some concern. Burnout is common among nurses and results from an overexertion at the workplace and taking little care of yourself outside of work.
Burnout can make you feel extremely depressed, emotionally and physically withdrawn, and pessimistic. It also leads to a decreased sense of enthusiasm and apathy. To prevent or cope with burnout, you need to invest in self-care.
Self-care, as the name indicates, is taking care of oneself. It encompasses all those actions that one employs to ease their mind, body, and soul. Self-care is subjective and thus relates to whatever makes the person feel happy.
Nursing is one of the most hectic healthcare professions out there. Because of their never-ending work and overpowering exhaustion, nurses tend to forget about themselves and mostly burnout, as a result.
Therefore, to prevent burning out, nurses need to indulge in a little self-care. Here are six self-care tips for nurses to start practicing immediately.
- Embrace change:
Most of the times, we feel out of tune with our work, which can make us feel lost and see no progress in our lives. It could be the colleagues, work policies, or the work field itself that doesn’t suit us.
If that is the case with you as well, consider changing organizations or going on a vacation, and see if those change your perceptions.
But, if you are interested in making none of those moves, then a better strategy is to upskill. There are numerous options to choose from when trying to excel in your nursing career, depending on your area of interest.
For example, someone who prefers to work with adults rather than children can opt for an MSN AGACNP program, while someone who prefers treating patients with mental health disorders can go for an MSN PMNHP program.
Similarly, you might enroll in computer courses to learn the ropes on a new technology, or seek foundational knowledge in the machines you will be operating daily when working in a hospital setting.
Overall, a change of pace or career can be quite revitalizing.
- Take time out of the day for yourself:
For most nurses, their self comes way behind on their list of priorities. They work round the clock in providing patients with care, give counsel to family members, and support to the loved ones. But when done doing all that, they will forget to prioritize their own health.
Therefore, nurses have to take some time out of their busy schedules for themselves to enjoy the things they love. A great way to relax is to engage in a long-forgotten hobby that provides them with peace and self-satisfaction.
Another great way to relax is by taking a much-deserved warm bath after the shift hours. Nurses can add different things to their warm bath in order to nourish their body and mind.
They can add essential oils, rose petals, or various salts to their bath. Nurses should be aware that they don’t have to worry about their work when they’re out there living their life among loved ones.
- Engage with friends and family:
Constantly caring for others should mean that they should have someone who can care for them as well. A nurse should have a tight-knit support network consisting of friends and family.
As a nurse, you should have ample time from work to spend with your loved ones. This means that when you arrive home from work you can have a get-together around the dinner table with people that matter to you.
Similarly, nurses can also go on dates with their romantic partners on movie nights or on dinner dates to help them find happiness outside of work.
You can even make a simple phone call to a loved one when you are on break at work. Even talking to someone who is close to you for a few minutes can help you get in the right mood.
- Immerse in Nature:
Nothing comes close to the joys of taking a stroll through the garden that is filled with sweet-smelling flowers and plants. Being able to spend time in nature can be a blessing that most nurses don’t get enough time to immerse in.
If you can take out some time out of work, or even after your shift, you can visit the local park or a garden where you can surround yourself with enchantingly natural scenes, like flowers, trees, and birds.
If you have a day off, plan a beach trip or go for mountain hiking. Being around nature is necessary for all of us, but it is especially important for nurses. For a nurse, nature is an antidote to the rigors of the profession.
Nature has a soothing and healing effect on the mind and soul. A simple walk through the woods can leave a nurse feeling rejuvenated, tranquil, and happy. Moreover, their work efficacy also increases and they feel a lot kinder.
- Stay in shape:
Even though nurses have to stay on their feet all day, they can get out of shape due to overuse issues and disorders. For a nurse, having a physical activity is all-important and significant, so that they can keep their energy levels maintained.
Working out helps strengthen and tone your muscles, prevents diseases, improves the quality of sleep, and can make the skin glow. Physical activity can be anything from walking your dog, riding a bike, taking the stairs, or going for a swim.
Keeping your body in shape is only a part of the puzzle, the bigger and even more important part is to keep your mind sharp and stress-free. Mental exercises, like yoga and meditation, offer mental and spiritual peace, reduce stress, increase focus, and improve posture.
A nurse should incorporate yoga into her daily life in order to manage and reduce stress. Similarly, nurses in work settings can employ mediation techniques to ease their minds. There are various types of meditations ranging from breathing exercises to chanting a particular word or phrase. Find a technique that suits you best and incorporate it into your recovery routine.
- Staying healthy:
Another important aspect of self-care is nutrition. Nurses, however, fail to take care of their nutrition. Most nurses will eat whatever is available at the hospital cafeteria without paying any regard to its nutritional value.
At times, during emergencies and operations, nurses may have to go hours without food. Having not enough nutritional value in the food you consume or taking too little of food can both cause you to feel lethargic.
Instead consuming empty calories at work, nurses should meal prep in advance and cook in batches. The batches of meal should then be portioned and spread over the entirety of the week as your supply of home-cooked, nutrient-filled meals.
In addition to this, nurses should invest in proper hygiene, which means having a clean set of scrubs, comfortable shoes, a Ziploc bag with face wash, a spare toothbrush, hand wash, cream, comb, and deodorant should be the mainstays in a nurse’s bag.
Conclusion
Nurses are the most at-risk professionals to burnout. The condition, if left untreated, can severely affect a nurse’s mental and physical health. The prevalence of burnout among the nurses necessitates the need for incorporating good self-care practices. The above-mentioned tips were meant to be a primer, so that nurses can start living a healthier life.