It’s National Nurses Week, celebrating the contributions of nurses around the globe. This year’s theme is “The Power of Nurses to Transform Health”, highlighting the impact nurses have on healthcare, innovation, and patient care. Know something more about National Nurses Week.
Being a nurse isn’t all sugar and spice and everything nice. Remember COVID-19? Nurses in Canada are faced with many challenges, such as demographic changes, staffing shortages, violence and abuse, stress, burnout, difficult workplace conditions, and inadequate compensation and recognition.
How You Can Help Nurses
- Respect and appreciate nurses – the simple act of saying, thank you, or writing a note can make a huge difference.
- Protect your health – discuss public health guidelines with your doctor.
- Make your voice heard – advocate for nurses’ rights and/or policies aimed at improving working conditions and wages.
Supporting nurses is about maintaining a functioning and compassionate healthcare system. Every person can play a role in helping nurses thrive.
How Can Nurses Help Themselves?
- Self-care – including getting enough sleep, eating for mental health and setting appropriate boundaries.
- Meditation and relaxation exercises – will help prevent and cope with burnout. Apps such as Calm, Headspace and Insight Timer can play a role. If you have never meditated before start with guided meditation.
- Exercise – regular exercise will help manage stress and anxiety. It doesn’t have to be a full-blown workout. Go for a walk. Get out into nature. See your surroundings with fresh eyes.
- Counselling – Seek professional help from a registered/regulated professional such as a psychotherapist or social worker. Nurses often have extended health care plans that include coverage for various health professionals.
- Network with colleagues and mentors – Connect with others who understand your work situation. Mentors typically have more experience than mentees and often have excellent suggestions to help manage burnout. Beware of spending too much time talking to co-workers about problems and not enough time talking about solutions. This can become toxic over time.
- Access your social support network – Connect with people outside of the healthcare environment for balance and perspective.
Mental health directly affects every part of our lives—how we think, feel, behave, and interact with others. Just like physical health, mental well-being is essential for living a fulfilling, balanced, and productive life. Reach out if you need help.
Listening. Guiding. Caring.
