Jean Watson, a holistic nurse and founder and director of the Watson Caring Science Institute, noted, “Nurses are a unique kind. They have this insatiable need to care for others, which is both their greatest strength and fatal flaw.” Nurses often forget the essential and critical need to love, be kind to, and compassionately care for themselves and each other.
A national survey of over 11,000 nurses conducted by Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation (HNHN) revealed that 70% of nurses reported putting the health, safety and well-being of their patients before their own. This finding is no secret, since nurses practicing what they preach has historically remained a significant and ongoing self-care deficit, placing them at high risk for compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. It’s sadly ironic that despite the intense education and training that nurses undergo to prepare for a profession dedicated to human caring, a call to action is needed to promote their own personal self-care practices.
In 2017, the American Nurses Association (ANA) Enterprise launched an ongoing HNHN “Grand Challenge” directed at transforming the health of our nation by first improving the health of our nation’s almost 4 million registered nurses. According to HNHN, domains of self-care among nurses needing immediate attention include physical activity, quality of life, rest, nutrition, and safety.
Combined examples of suggested tips for helping nurses address and improve self-care by the HNHN and the American Holistic Nurses Association include the following:
The World Health Organization declared 2020 the Year of the Nurse, and the American Nurses Association Enterprise has made self-care among nurses a top priority goal. Nurses are devoted and dedicated instruments of healing who are responsible for role modeling, mentoring, teaching and advocating best care practices for those they work alongside with, as well as those placed in the hands of their care.
Resuscitation is defined as the act of restoring someone to an active or flourishing state. Self-care practice resuscitation (sCPR!) among nurses is a current and emergent necessity needed to inspire and encourage nurses to restore themselves to their most optimal healthy, balanced and flourishing state. In the words of Eleanor Brownn, “When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.”
Nurses: love, respect, cherish and take care of yourself just as you love, respect, cherish and take care of others. It’s time that we practice what we preach and breathe life back into our own hearts as nurses. ❤️