Self Care for Nurses: Small Doses for Wellness

Self care is not a magical elixir. It alone will not fix the problems that create stress in your life as a new or veteran nurse; however, a self-care practice can help you to develop the necessary tools to find creative solutions to problems, to enjoy and rely on the camaraderie of your team, and ultimately to flourish in a meaningful and exciting career.

Everything in this book is grounded in research and the expertise of psychologists, therapists, social workers, physicians, and other smart people, especially your fellow nurses. As your guides on this journey, we know a lot, but we don't know everything. We do, however, know a great idea when we hear it, and we've listened to nurses share their ideas about what is helpful and their experiences with making many of these ideas work for them. We have participated in resilience retreats with our nursing colleagues Jonathan Bartels, Esther Golda Lozano Otis, and Hannah Crosby, and we love their approach: They offer their students a "menu" of options, let them experience each one, and send them on their way. They trust that each student will connect with the practices that resonate or fit into their lifestyle. They also understand full well that your needs evolve over time. What works for you today may not work for you in three years. Your self-care journey will take some effort on your part, and this book aspires to guide you along the way.

 

We designed this book with the real-life nurses we know and love in mind. We asked ourselves, When and where will a nurse have time to read this? Will it fit in a backpack? We've written the entire book in small, bite-sized doses. Read a few pages on the bus or during a break. You don't even have to start at the beginning. We need all the gifts you bring to the nursing profession. Your patients need you. Your colleagues need you, and especially new nurses need you as they enter the profession. There are a lot of people at stake in your becoming the best nurse you can possibly be. Nursing affords you routine interactions that change the lives of your patients, strengthens the resolve of your colleagues, and ripples beyond your immediate circle to surprising places. Your gifts are beyond measure. When you're empowered to take deliberate steps toward your own well-being and that of others, everyone flourishes.

Natalie B. May, PhD, transitioned to the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Nursing after 30 years as Associate Professor of Research in the Division of General Medicine in the UVA School of Medicine. She is a founding member of the UVA Center for Appreciative Practice. Certified as an Appreciative Inquiry facilitator and lead author of Appreciative Inquiryin Healthcare, she enjoys developing appreciative inquiry projects and teaching appreciative practice workshops at her home institution and beyond. She is an experienced qualitative researcher, and her current work focuses on mattering in medicine and the wisdom of nurse managers. She is co-author of Choosing Wisdom: The Path Through Adversity, and co-producer of a PBS film, Choosing Wisdom. She is now the project manager for an HRSA-funded training grant, Wisdom and Wellbeing Peer Support Training, for healthcare workers and first responders at UVA and in Central Virginia. She earned a BA in economics and urban studies from Wellesley College, an MA in creative writing from Boston University, and her PhD in educational research from the University of Virginia Curry School of Education.May lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband, Jim. Her most consistent and effective self-care practices are modern quilting and walking near water, especially the James River and the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Tim Cunningham, DrPH, MSN, RN, FAAN, began his professional career as a performing artist and clown. As a clown, he worked for two organizations that changed his life. The first, the Big Apple Circus, employed him to perform as a clown doctor at Boston Children's Hospital, Yale New Haven Children's Hospital, and Hasbro Children's Hospital. Concurrently, he volunteered for Clowns Without Borders (CWB), performing in various refugee camps, war zones, and other global zones of crisis. He later served as Executive Director of CWB. It was in pediatric hospitals and refugee camps where he witnessed and began to learn about the true meaning of resilience and self care. This performance work inspired him to pursue a career in nursing, and so Cunningham completed a second-degree nursing program at the University of Virginia. He became an emergencytrauma nurse and worked clinically in Charlottesville, Virginia;Washington, DC; and New York City. It was during his time in New York City that he completed his doctoral degree in public health at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Cunningham is the former Director of the Compassionate Care Initiative at the University of Virginia, where he had the opportunity to work closely with Drs. Fontaine and May as this book came to fruition. Hecurrently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and serves as the Co-Chief Well-Being Officer for the Woodruff Health Sciences Center at Emory University. He also holds a joint appointment as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University. Cunningham began his academic journey receiving his BA in English from the College of William and Mary in 2000. For self care, he is an avid runner and wanna-be gardener. He loves any chance he can get to swim in the ocean or meditate as the sun rises.

Dorrie K. Fontaine, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the Dean Emerita at the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Nursing, where she served as dean for 11 years until 2019. A champion of creating healthy work environments in clinical and academic settings, she is a Past-President of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. In 2009 she created the Compassionate Care Initiative at UVA, which has grown to be a guiding force in transforming the culture of the school with a focus on fostering human flourishing and resilience for students, faculty, and staff. A noted author of critical care texts, a leadership book, and multiple papers and presentations on creating healthy work environments through compassionate care, Fontaine credits a retreat at Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe in spring 2009 with the Abbot, Roshi Joan Halifax, for setting her on the path of mindfulness, meditation, and a renewed focus on self care. She attended Villanova University and the University of Maryland and received her PhD from The Catholic University of America. Her four-decade career of teaching and academic leadership includes positions at the University of Maryland, Georgetown University, and the University of California, San Francisco. Fontaine lives in Washington, DC, and the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with her husband, Barry.