Self-Care for Healthcare
Caring for the caregivers. As healthcare providers, we must nurture our own bodies, minds, and spirits in order to care for our patients. Healthcare workers are a high-risk group for burnout. A growing body of evidence further supports the idea that nurses and other health care providers are unlikely to seek assistance or take care of their mental and physical well-being due to stigma, concerns about confidentiality, a fear of retribution, as well as reluctance to assume the role of the patient (Nissim et al., 2019). Typically, we do not display vulnerability. It is an unspoken phenomenon. Any expression of emotion is generally not encouraged as it is viewed as a weakness. Additionally, it can be tough to reflect upon and share challenging experiences. A practice of mindfulness and self-care can be tricky because it involves accessing the subconscious, the part of our brains that we almost try not to use during the day. However, we do need to be cautious about this. Most of us do not wish to go there; we would rather keep it bottled up and get over it, but the truth is, we must go through it!
According to the American Nurses Association (2021), self-determination is characterized by the ability to make choices and manage one's life, including one's professional life. Increasing nurses' resilience requires a combination of self-care, relaxation, exercise, establishing effective coping techniques, maintaining a positive attitude, cultivating a supportive social network, recognizing vulnerabilities, confronting worries, reframing anxious thoughts, and maintaining patience. Self-determination may enhance culture and resilience in the following ways:
Recognizing burnout early
Intervening appropriately
Showing appreciation to team members
Recognizing contributions
Responding readily to challenging situations
Adapting quickly to changes to impact patient outcomes positively
According to Kabat-Zinn (1984), the concept of mindfulness is an ability to focus attention on an individual's experience in the present moment. Epstein (1999) was the first to identify mindfulness as an essential characteristic of the professional competence of health care providers and to suggest methods for cultivating it within clinical practice to improve self-awareness, active listening, presence, and compassion. All are qualities that are essential to providing holistic, patient-centered care.
Nissim et al. (2019) demonstrated that learning to pause, acquiring a well-defined understanding of stress and self-care, becoming present in the moment, building self-compassion, receiving organizational recognition, acknowledging stress, sharing vulnerability within interprofessional teams, and committing to a sitting meditation practice led to positive transformation in health care workers.
References
American Nurses Association. (2021). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (4th ed.).
Epstein, R. M. (1999). Mindful practice. Journal of the American Medical Association, 282, 833-839.
Nissim, Malfitano, C., Coleman, M., Rodin, G., & Elliott, M. (2019). A Qualitative Study of a Compassion, Presence, and Resilience Training for Oncology Interprofessional Teams. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 37(1), 30–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898010118765016