Nurse leaders need self-care too!
Nurses are tired. Nurses are burned out. Nurses are leaving. In a survey conducted in November 2022 by the American Nurses Foundation, 64% of nurses experienced being stressed out; 57% said they were exhausted; 48% said they were undervalued, 43% said they experienced burnout, and 39% said they felt unsupported.
As nurse leaders, we do everything we can to support the well-being of our team, but face additional stressors like staffing shortages, budget constraints, role conflict, team retention, job overload, and patient and family complaints. What can we do to promote the self-care and well-being of ourselves?
Know and respect your limits
Keeping an open-door policy is one of the simplest ways to gain trust and make your staff believe you care about them. When nurses come to you frustrated or fatigued, you acknowledge their feelings. You let them know that you understand, and that their feelings are valid. But we’ve all had bad days. Maybe it was an especially tough meeting. Maybe it was a very difficult conversation you had to have with a patient, family member, or team member. It’s OK to close your door for a bit to breathe, listen to music, meditate, or just be still. This is time you need to take care of yourself, so you can be there to take care of your team.
Do fun things for and with your nurse team
Incorporate the fun stuff into work. Create an appreciation board in the break room for your team to recognize each other. Give an impromptu shout out to a team member you just heard a patient compliment about. In addition to recognizing your own team, volunteer to help other leaders recognize employees of the month or read recognition letters from patients and family members during their team meetings. Happiness and appreciation is contagious.
Do what you enjoy
Take time for the things you like to do. One thing that I liked to do was break up the paperwork, audits, meetings, and reports by doing patient and team member rounds. I enjoyed the time spent with patients, and it gave them an extra person to listen and care for them. I also liked chatting with team members and helping them with patient care or a tough lab draw. It made me feel more like a nurse.
Take the time off to recharge
Healthcare workers are absolute rockstars, and your team will know what to do if you’re not there for a few days. Take that beach vacation, long weekend away, or staycation at home. Make sure you are planning and using your vacation time periodically. You are a person too. A well-rested you creates a nurse leader that can confront and process challenges. Taking adequate time off leads by example and reinforces to your team that everyone deserves time-off to relax and recharge.
While these are just a few examples, I hope you know that it is important to take care of yourself and find the balance you need to function as an effective team leader. As nurse leaders, it’s easy to become so focused on taking care of other people that we forget to take care of ourselves. Don’t forget to pay attention to your own well-being.
