How Nurses can Take Care of Themselves
Nurses are one of the busiest persons in a hospital taking care of patients, day in and day out. Bulk of their work requires them to be on their feet going from one room to another or performing their duties.
Being a nurse means having a lot of responsibilities during a shift but it does not mean that nurses should neglect themselves. This should be their top priority in order to carry out their activities effectively. Here are some tips to care for themselves.
- Keep a healthy diet. Before your shift, make sure to have a complete meal so your body will not crave for lost nutrients within the day or night. It will also boost your body to help you carry out your duties. Having small bites once in a while is highly discouraged as it will not be suffice to keep your body energized. Instead, take time to have a break and have your meal in order to keep you nourished.
- Make your mind prepared. During your day-offs, spend quality time for yourself and do healthy activities to calm and relax your mind like yoga. Also, do not forget to have relaxing time reading or going to the spa. Your mind also needs some pampering and quiet times with soothing music also helps.
- Spend time to exercise. Nothing beats keeping yourself fit to keep up with the demands of your work. Remember that nurses have multiple tasks that take them not just from one bed to another but one floor to another. Doing light exercises before your duty will make your muscles wake up and keep up with the many tasks for the day.
- Take deep calming breaths. Whenever you feel stressed out or faced with a challenging situation, the best way to calm yourself is to take deep breaths. It is also advisable to stop and go to a quiet place to rejuvenate yourself and take those needed deep breaths. Sometimes the body needs a little time-off just to adjust to the demands that is needed of a nurse.
- Balancing work and life. Yes, nurses also have a life outside the hospital. Work means doing the duties the nurse is tasked to do like taking care of their patients. Nurses also need time to bond with family and friends and also time for themselves but when in the hospital, the number one priority is the welfare of their patients. When a nurse is happy with their personal lives then they will also be happy with their professional life.
- More sleep. At the end of the shift, a nurse needs to rest and have lots of sleep. Doing all the stressful activities makes the body crave for a restful sleep but do not overdo it otherwise you will just feel tired.
A nurse’s priority may be taking care of the patients but an important part of the shift is also taking care of their health. Remember that behind a healthy patient is a healthy nurse.
Published at: 05/18/2015
