As the saying goes, you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of others. This is especially true for registered nurses (RNs). Nursing is a demanding career, requiring both physical and emotional stamina. Moreover, while earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree can help you advance your career and nursing practice, the added responsibilities and time commitment of studies and commutes can add stress to an already hectic workload and schedule.
Thankfully, The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) offers a flexible online RN to BSN program, allowing you to avoid commutes and schedule studies whenever is most convenient. Choosing the online education path is an example of how nursing students can alleviate stress and support personal health. Prioritizing personal health is imperative so that you have the energy and strength to care for patients. Therefore, it is critical to identify several self-care strategies and incorporate them into your daily routine.
Why Is Self-Care Important?
Self-care for nurses is significant because it promotes individual health and wellness, offering an outlet for stress and creating a better work-life balance. Since nursing relies on shift work — weekends, nights and on-call rotations — sleep deprivation is a problem for many. In fact, research demonstrates a correlation between night shift work and numerous issues ranging from sleep problems to metabolic abnormalities and other chronic disease risk factors. Self-care strategies can minimize the occurrence of sleep deprivation and the negative effects on nurses and patients.
In addition, nurses experience depression at high rates, especially in particularly stressful environments like the emergency department. Circumstances surrounding the pandemic further exacerbated stress, depression, anxiety, compassion fatigue and burnout in the profession.
Some self-care techniques provide ways for nurses to disconnect from or mitigate work-related stress and depression, potentially channeling these negative factors into positive outlets. With the amount of physical and emotional stress that nurses are under, having a way to process negative thoughts and feelings is instrumental in fighting depression. Depression affects not only one’s well-being but also interactions with coworkers, challenging communication and the resulting quality of patient care.
Self-care Strategies for Nurses
To keep stress and depression at bay and maintain your physical health, try implementing self-care strategies such as the following:
- Stay hydrated: While this may seem obvious, staying hydrated is often a challenge for nurses. To combat dehydration, take small sips of water throughout your shift. Consider investing in an insulated tumbler to keep beverages at the preferred temperature.
- Take restroom breaks: When you are busy with patients, it can be easy to overlook your own needs. However, making time for restroom breaks throughout your shift is crucial. A few two-minute trips to the restroom can prevent unnecessary and painful urinary tract and bladder infections.
- Plan healthy meals and snacks: As a nurse, you may be burning through calories faster than you think. You must refresh your energy reserves frequently and ensure you have healthy meals and snacks readily available. Avoid relying on foods and drinks with high caffeine and sugar levels. Instead, select nutritious foods that are portable and require minimal preparation.
- Choose an exercise you enjoy: Stamina and strength are necessary to perform your job duties properly, and exercise can help. Find an exercise you enjoy — whether it is walking, swimming, cycling or yoga — and do it at least a few times a week. Some employers offer discounted gym memberships or even hold fitness classes on campus, so try out a few different exercises and find what works best for you.
- Create a sleep-friendly environment: Even if you are not working the night shift, creating a relaxing sleep environment can ensure you get the rest you need. Room-darkening curtains, eye masks, ear plugs and noise machines can be helpful options.
- Keep in touch with family and friends: Shift work and on-call assignments can wreak havoc on your personal life. While missing activities with friends or family might be tempting, maintaining these relationships can do wonders for your emotional health. Though you can’t say yes to every invitation, strive to meet up with others outside of work at least once a week.
- Be mindful: Meditation techniques, like deep breathing and guided imagery, can be instrumental in relieving stress and refocusing on the present. With a growing number of smartphone apps as well as meditation videos designed solely for nurses, finding a suitable format and style has never been easier.
How to Incorporate Self-Care
While the self-care strategies listed above can help nurses reduce stress and improve overall health and wellness, incorporating them into a busy schedule can prove challenging. Starting with small goals can lead to greater progress down the road. For example, set a goal to exercise just twice weekly for 10 minutes each time. After one month, increase to three times per week, slowly extending the length of the exercise session.
In addition, adding self-care techniques to your calendar can increase your chances of sticking with it. Consider setting a standing weekly lunch date with your best friend, downloading a meditation app that automatically sends daily guided imagery prompts or joining a fitness class with a coworker who will keep you accountable.
Get Started in UTA’s Online RN to BSN Program
Nursing is a rewarding career that demands both physical and emotional strength. Incorporating self-care strategies into your schedule can reduce stress and minimize negative health effects, improving your overall wellness and work-life balance. Further, advancing your education through the online RN to BSN program from UTA can open career advancement opportunities, allowing you to pursue a nursing position with stress-relieving benefits such as a better schedule or an employer that invests in your well-being.
Learn more about UTA’s online RN to BSN program.
