By: American Nurses Association

Nurses and other health care heroes deserve the utmost appreciation, for the tremendous sacrifices they continue to make to care for their communities. Addressing the mental and emotional impact of being a nurse during one of the most prolific global pandemics in history is an essential component of navigating this crisis.

One way to do this is through enhancing personal resilience.

ANCC’s Pathway to Excellence® Program has some simple ways you can do every day to help mitigate stress.

The American Psychological Association defines resilience as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress.” The COVID-19 pandemic can increase stress, so it’s important to take steps to proactively safeguard your well-being and that of your colleagues.

Here are 3 simple things you can do every day to relieve stress and build resilience:

1. Recognize if you are feeling stress and take steps to manage it. Acknowledge that what you feel is normal.
   • Find someone trusted you can talk to. Verbalizing how you feel can lessen your anxiety.
   • Limit your exposure to news and social media.
   • Verbalize what you need and accept help from others.
2. Practice self-care
   • Ensure you get breaks. Find a place where you can be alone and have some reflective time. Even a short step away to decompress can be helpful.
   • Keep nutritious snacks on hand you can easily pick up and eat anytime.
   • Maintain a healthy sleep schedule and practice good sleep hygiene, such as turning off screens before bed and going to bed around the same time every night.
   • Keep a journal. Whether it is a gratitude journal, a simple recount of the day’s events or writing down your thoughts and worries, journaling can be an effective self-care strategy.
3. Cultivate kindness and recognition
   • Everyone around you is most likely feeling the same stress and exhaustion. Perform one random act of kindness a day. The feeling you get knowing you’ve made someone’s day will help to energize you. And even if you’re not expecting it, you’re bound to get it back in return when you create a culture of kindness and recognition.

Learn more about the Pathway to Excellence program at https://pages.nursingworld.org/pathway

What are you doing to support your personal resilience? Leave us a comment.

Join the conversation online with Pathway at @pathway_team and @ANCCPTECon on Twitter. #LivingPathway.

Categories: Individual Development

Tags: Credentialing / Accreditation Programs