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Self-Care 101
To cope with the numerous pressures of nursing work, nurses must find ways to release negative emotions, deal with conflict, and promote their own well-being. This chapter discusses the ways to build resilience, cope with multiple patient losses, and employ self-care practices.
After reading this chapter, you will be able to:
■ Identify ways to increase resilience
■ Discuss ways to cope with multiple patient losses
■ Utilize a variety of self-care techniques
RESILIENCE
Working in health care is extremely rewarding but also presents many challenges that can lead to burnout. Building resilience is critical for sustaining a lifelong, rewarding career in nursing. Resilience is a personality trait that enables one to overcome challenges and resolve negative emotions (Pettifer, 2013). Resilience does not mean that nurses must become discompassionate. Rather, it entails the ability to access deeply rooted emotional strength to be able to provide compassionate, quality care despite the sadness and grief that may ensue after the patient dies (Pettifer, 2013).
Although many studies have identified resilience as a trait specific to an individual, it is possible to build resilience over time. For example, external activities such as developing problem-solving skills and engaging in work, play, art, or exercise help to build resilience. Maintaining hope and consistently using positive coping skills can also foster resilience (Rushton, Batcheller, Schroeder, & Donohue, 2015). Hospice nurses must be especially resilient as they repeatedly encounter patient losses.
COPING WITH MULTIPLE LOSSES
One of the stressors that is unique to hospice nursing is the knowledge that most patients with whom the nurse forms a bond will die during the course of their relationship. Hospice nurses form very close bonds with patients and families because home visits may last 1 to 2 hours, several times each week. In inpatient settings, hospice nurses also become emotionally invested in managing each patient’s symptoms and supporting family members through symptom crises and/or through the loss of their loved one. Even though hospice nurses are aware that their patients are terminally ill, recurrent exposure to the loss of patients is emotionally unsettling and can take a toll on nurses’ well-being.
The death of a patient might be emotionally challenging, especially when the nurse is expected to move on quickly to the next patient. The burden of working in end-of-life settings includes not only the emotional toll, but also (Kent, Anderson, & Owens, 2012):
■ Technological challenges
■ Ethical dilemmas
■ Legal issues
■ Cultural considerations
■ Family assessment and education
■ Complex symptom management
Fast Facts in a Nutshell
