Nurse Heal Thyself

By Jordie Papa

Image by Uniform Destination

When it comes to TLC, nurses are poster children. Their occupation requires them to make the hurt go away, whether it’s splinting a broken limb, changing a dressing or reassuring patients and family members alike that everything is going to be alright. Face it, nurses are who the sick go to first when they aren’t feeling their best. Doctors come later.  That being said, this puts nurses in the unenviable position of sometimes being second banana when it comes to their own personal care.  Heck, nurses routinely put their bodies and minds in harms way in terms of stress, diet, and lifestyle not to mention wear and tear on their bodies.  Whether you’re talking about putting in 10-12 hour shifts or trying to grab a quick bite to eat between patients, nurses tend to heal everyone but themselves.

That’s why I thought I’d take a little time today to talk about the little things that can make a big difference to working nurses everywhere.

The Double Shift Double Whammy

All too many nurses stumble home after a double shift like the living dead with good reason. Long shifts plus high stress equals burnout in anyone’s book.  On top of being worn to a frazzle from long hours on the ward, the physiological trauma nurses put their bodies through adds to the toll.  Sometimes the physical stresses of the job are unavoidable, but many times the damage can be lessened by donning clothing designed to take some of the stress out of long shifts.

     

Image courtesy Uniform Destination

1.      Are your shoes giving you the blues? – The next time you finish a long shift look down at your lower extremities to see if your ankles are inflamed and your feet are sore.  Chances are swollen ankles are the result of insufficient blood flow.  The quickest way to correct the problem is to wear compression socks and stockings that are designed to increase the blood supply to the lower extremities.  Sore feet, on the other hand, are usually caused by either poor arch support or soles that are too flexible. Studies have shown that firm soles are better able to align the ankles and limit the range of motion to which your feet are subjected. If you spend your shift walking on tile floors, you might even want to invest in shoes with rocker-bottom soles.  The rocker-bottom design makes sure that neither the ball of your foot nor your heel impacts the ground.  This reduces strain by equally distributing the pressure along the entire length of the foot instead of concentrating all of it on the heel and toe.  

      2.      Do your scrubs rub you the wrong way? – Another way your clothing can get you down is if they bind or chafe. Depending on your body type, if you want to feel less run down at the end of a long shift, you need to first make sure your scrubs aren’t bringing you down.  Depending on the shape and size of your frame, changing your scrubs could change your life.   If your body features a prominent bust and narrow waist, you will look and feel your best in vee-neck or mock-wrap tops.   If your body is rounder in the middle, you will do best in long, loose fitting wrap tops that extend past your hips.  Choose pants with elastic as opposed to a drawstring.   If you have wide shoulders and narrow hips, avoid baggy tops. Mock wrap tops work well for those with a well-defined chest and narrow waist. 

The Care & Feeding of a Nurse

Image courtesy flickr

If you don’t want to feel run down, don’t downplay the importance of nutrition.  That means you need to make sure you eat healthy and often.  Provided you aren’t chained to a desk, nurses who are on their feet can burn as many as 1800 calories during a 10-hour shift.  If you don’t want to wind up looking like an extra from a George Romero movie, you need to eat.  If your busy schedule doesn’t allow you the time to take a meal break, consider carrying high-protein energy bars to snack on during your shift.  Plus, make sure you eat a balanced meal before and after your shift, as opposed to grabbing a pizza on your way home.  You’ll be surprised at how much better you’ll feel if you make sure you aren’t fighting malnutrition along with fatigue.

Remember, fatigue doesn’t affect only you.  Your ability to function with a clear head is vital to the health of your patients.  Studies have shown that stressed or fatigued nurses are more likely to be involved in incidents such as providing the wrong medication or improper doses of prescriptions, charting errors and other anomalies that can cause patients to sustain additional injury.  Furthermore, these aberrations are five times more likely to occur at the end of a nurse’s shift than at the start of a shift.

Here are other healthy snacks you can carry in your pocket to munch on as your shift goes on: almonds, apple or orange slices, dried apricots or prunes, raisins, rice cakes, or trail mix.

The Nurse Who Plays together, Stays Together

Image courtesy flickr

Another piece of advice that can help every nurse lead a more fulfilling life is to make sure they have a life outside their job.  The problem with shift-work is people tend to do little more than work, sleep, work.  If repeated often enough, this siege mentality can lead to disillusionment, disappointment and eventual burnout.  Even if your job and your family seem to block out the sun, the best thing you can do is to make some time for yourself. 

Even if we’re only talking about an hour a day, doing something you enjoy can help you melt the stress away.  (And I’m not talking about zoning out in front of the TV.)  Get out and go for a walk, ride a bike or jog around the park.  Practice yoga, meditate or do tai chi. Play tennis with a friend or go for a swim.  Physical activity is not only a great way to keep your body in shape, it has also been proven to relieve stress by taking your mind off your problems. 

Once you take charge and make a few changes to your life that are designed to help you deal with both physical and mental stress, you’ll find that your job and your family won’t seem to drag you down so much anymore.  Embracing a healthier lifestyle is the best way for any stressed out nurse to heal thyself. 

Jordie Papa is owner of Uniform Destination with four locations in North Florida offers scrubs and medical accessories, including stethoscopes.