5 Things Nurses Should Be Doing for Self Care

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I’m just going to put this bluntly…nurses are the absolute worse offenders of neglecting to take care of themselves. Nurses, by nature, are on a mission to care for the needs of others. Often all the while putting their own needs on the back burner.

There’s one thing thing that I always remind myself and the other nurses that I work with. It’s that we can only give our best effort to our patients if we first give ourselves our best efforts.

Self care should be a non negotiable part of your weekly schedule as a dedicated healthcare worker. Not just so that your work performance improves. Most importantly, so that you can enjoy living your life outside of the walls of the hospital as well.

I’m going to breakdown a few of the self care tasks that I feel are priority. These are tasks that are skipped over more often than not by nurses, myself included.

Your Lunch Break is a Form of Self Care

Some days are definitely off the chain, and a lunch break is just not going to happen due to circumstance. Neither is a bathroom break on these same days and it’s unfortunate, to say the least. Working on a med-surg or high acuity unit? Then I am certain that you are familiar with these days. Days that your patient ends up coding or something else completely out of your control happens just as you clock out for lunch.

There are also days where the not so critical tasks seem endless. As though you are constantly treading water for 12 hors straight. These are the days that you need to just pick a spot on your task list that’s in front of you and just hit pause.

The patient in room 23 can wait 30 minutes for that daily vitamin the doctor just ordered. Just like the patient who needs a non-serious dressing change on their foot can wait another 30 minutes. Not to say that you should be in the mind set of “putting off your patients” or anything like that. You just need to keep yourself and your vital needs in mind too.

I don’t know about other hospitals, but where I work we have an hour window before and after a medication is scheduled to be given. That hour window allows a medication to either be given early or little late. Within reason and good nursing judgement of course. Learn to utilize that window to your advantage if your hospital also has this policy. And prioritize your lunch break for 30 minutes of much needed self care.

A lunch break isn’t just meant to be a time to shove food down your throat as fast as possible. Just to get back to passing meds and changing dressings. You need time for your mind to just relax and take a breather. Being a nurse is just as mentally taxing as it is physically, if not even more.

I bet you haven’t drank any water yet either. Staying hydrated should be up there on your self care list with making sure you take your linch break and properly nourish yourself during your shift. My lunch break is my sacred time. Sure, some days just are busy beyond help and you WILL need to scarf food and keep moving. But on those days where time can be made, I make sure to take my 30 minutes and mentally clock out by listening my current audiobook, reading a currently physical book, or scouring Pinterest for something entirely unrelated to work for my 30 minutes of self care.

Lastly, don’t forget that you’re not alone on your unit. Everyone else might be having as chaotic of a day as you are. But When possible, help each other. And don’t hesitate to ask for help when you feel like you’re growing.

Use Your PTO

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been racking up my PTO for the better part of the past year and a half now. With the Pandemic keeping us at home and unable to travel and go on vacation, I’m sure I’m not the only healthcare worker with plenty of PTO to have a really nice week or more off from work to focus on self care.

Working full time as a nurse has its perks, including the constant accrual of PTO hours. These hours are meant to be used, so have some fun with them! Life’s too short to bank your free time to hopefully use one year from now. You’re allowed to take time off to do absolutely nothing. Doing nothing is a form of self care believe it or not!

As we’ve learned in the past year, you never know when a freaking PANDEMIC is just going to show up and make the whole world standstill. Even just utilizing a day of PTO to give yourself a longer span of time off on one random week feels really great to do. You deserve to have those 7-9 days off in a row. So that you can go have a spa-day, work on a hobby, take a trip to some where you’ve never been, or even just be a couch potato for a day in between all of that.

Be Selfish With Your Time Outside of Work

Your days off are your days off, period. In your heart of hearts, of course you want to help your colleagues and patients when ever you can. But you are not obligated to come into work on your day off just because they call and ask nicely.

My mother in law had to really drive this one into my head once I started working in health care. She had already been working in it for over 15 years by the time I got in, so I’ve learned a lot from her. But anytime my unit would reach out and ask if I could come in on a day off or pick up a shift later in the week, I would feel like I HAD to do it or else I would be seen as lazy or unwilling to help. An important form of self care is learning to say “no”.

Going in to help once in a while if your supervisor calls and asks is certainly not a bad thing. I know there have been countless occasions when I’ve been on a short staffed unit and would pray that who ever they call would be willing to come in and help.

It’s certainly great to help where you can, but never feel obligated to pick up a shift or come in every single time they ask. You’ve done your time and worked your hours each week. You should cherish your days off and never feel guilty or bad about wanting to keep your day off to yourself when work calls.

Have Days Dedicated to Self Care

I know, a million and a half excuses can be given as to why you haven’t blocked out a day or at least a couple hours on a particular day each week just for yourself. I know this because I use hundreds of these excuses myself. “I’m too busy.” “I need to clean the house.” “I don’t have any money.” etc etc.

First of all, self care doesn’t need to be expensive, or involve spending any money at all. All you nee is time and a comfy place to sit or lay down. Self-care can be as simple as picking a shady spot under a tree and picking out a good book. Even better, you can add in shutting off your phone (or at least putting it in do not disturb mode), and just shutting out the world for just an hour or two.

You don’t need to use PTO to do this for yourself. Just pick a time block on one of your days off, and dedicate it to yourself. Make it a non negotiable part of your weekly or even daily schedule.

For instance, going to the gym at least 4 times per week is my non negotiable me time. My gym time is for me. When I’m there, nothing else that is going on in the world is of my concern for that one hour that I am working out.

5. Don’t Feel Guilty for Setting Work Boundaries

Here’s another thing that you can do for yourself while you’re at work: setting boundaries. This is one that I personally struggled with for years at any of my jobs. I was the “yes girl” who would do essentially anything that was asked of me at work.

I’m still learning how to construct work place boundaries, but am certainly making progress. I’m learning when I should say no to something, and how to say it in a professional and confident way.

Some of the workplace boundaries that I have begun to set up as a nurse so far, include not taking on tasks that I don’t feel safe doing. This can include being the charge nurse when you don’t feel comfortable being in that role early in your nursing career. Or saying no to being offered a supervisor position that you certainly are not ready for or want to deal with period.

You should be your number one priority, always. Meaning, self care should be a staple of your weekly routine. Nursing is so mentally and physically demanding, we nurses NEED to give ourselves some TLC on s more frequent basis.

What are you doing to show yourself some love on a regular basis?