Being a nurse takes grit, adversity, and hard work.
Over the past two years, nurses have endured some of the hardest times the healthcare industry has ever witnessed.
Amid an ongoing global pandemic, healthcare providers continue to show up, risk their lives on the frontlines, and give their all to their patients.
A career as a nurse takes pure resilience.
Cornell University defines resilience as “one’s ability to cope with and bounce back from stress.”
Of course, as with most skills and abilities, resilience requires practice, nurturing, and continuous work to improve. Curious on how you can build your or your team’s resilience in nursing? Keep reading!
You do not have to be in a leadership position to embrace accountability among your team.
Now more than ever, nurses must work collaboratively to keep afloat during the staffing shortage crisis.
Accountability in nursing can range from providing safe and quality care to patients to following the facility’s guidelines and policies.
Whether you choose to take on the resilience-building role of the “accountant,” who assumes ownership for the performance of their team or not, ensuring that your team is holding each other accountable is a tried-and-true way to build resilience in nursing.
In order to build and establish resilience in nursing practices, you must take care of yourself.
Whether it’s through pre-work meditation or going for a walk, there are several ways to incorporate self-care into your daily life.
The benefits truly outweigh the cons here.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIHMH) states that setting aside time to practice self-care can decrease your risk of contracting illnesses, lower your stress and anxiety levels, and increase your energy.
As previously mentioned, the past two years in healthcare have been unlike anything we have seen in hundreds of years.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant losses in resources and staffing to healthcare facilities worldwide.
The ability to stay in the nursing field has become harder than joining.
Accepting that there will always be constant change and that we must push forward is essential for success in nursing practice.
We will never know what the future holds, but adversity and resilience are invaluable skillsets to bring to your team.
Nursing can be an emotionally strenuous profession.
From patient losses to angry family members, a lot that goes on throughout the day that you must deal with.
Psychology Today states that debriefing or venting some of your stressors to someone you trust is a great way to alleviate tension and stress.
In most cases, the common stressors you might encounter are the same as others on your team.
Fostering a support system dynamic is one of the slow-turning wheels that builds resilience in nursing.
Burnout is one of the major contributors to the nursing shortage, and it is a threat to patient safety.
From an increase in medical errors, decreased attention to detail and productivity, as well as physical and emotional exhaustion, it is evident that the risks of nursing burnout are detrimental to a healthcare facility.
As we have all experienced, the COVID-19 pandemic has truly exacerbated the burnout crisis among healthcare providers, and it is something that we must address. Lives are at stake.
According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, fostering resilience in nursing is central to improving provider health and decreasing the prevalence of burnout, which in turn, positively impacts patient outcomes.
If the healthcare team and administration can work collaboratively to address signs of burnout upon first recognition, provide valuable resources when needed, and increase awareness of the dangers of nursing burnout, resilience will strengthen.
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