Over the years, nurses have reported high levels of work-related stress. According to McKinsey & Company, almost two-thirds of surveyed nurses said they feel “a great deal of stress” because of their jobs. Fifty-six percent reported experiencing burnout symptoms, such as emotional exhaustion.
By focusing on self-care for nurses and paying closer attention to their well-being, there’s hope to improve this situation. After all, according to the mission of Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation® (HNHN) — a program of the American Nurses Association (ANA) — the way to improve the nation’s health is ”one nurse at a time.”
This article examines why self-care is so important for nurses, how to develop a self-care plan, and what nurse managers can do to promote self-care among their team members.
What Is Self-Care?
Self-care is any deliberate activity that we engage in to improve our physical, mental, or spiritual well-being. It is important for workers in every field, but especially for nurses, who spend their working hours caring for others. Self-care reduces stress, replenishes a nurse’s capacity to provide compassion and empathy, and helps improve the quality of care. The ANA also recommends it in its Code of Ethics.
Proper self-care practices for nurses have become especially important in recent years. As McKinsey’s research indicates, the COVID-19 pandemic “exacerbated the challenges of this high-intensity role.” Post-pandemic, nurses’ mental health remains a concern. According to a 2024 survey of nurses by AMN Healthcare, 55% of respondents said they were somewhat or very likely to change jobs in the coming year, suggesting job dissatisfaction.
“Nursing can be a traumatic field to work in,” says Wendy Mason, PhD, faculty member in the School of Nursing at Purdue Global. “Nurses are exposed to pain and suffering and trauma. We are often traumatized and do not even realize it. Self-care is actually a responsibility that we have, as you can see in the Code of Ethics. If we aren't caring for ourselves, we can't care for others.”
Why Is Self-Care Important for Nurses?
Self-care is a way to reduce the stress that comes with nursing.
“The analogy I use for my students is, ‘Think of yourself as a bank account. You can keep spending, but if you don't turn around and put something back in, you're going to end up in a serious deficit.’ That leads to burnout.”
-Wendy Mason, PhD
Self-Care Replenishes a Nurse’s Empathy and Compassion
Empathy and compassion are critical components of a nurse’s care. The more taxed a nurse is, the more likely their capacity to provide these will suffer.
“We keep pouring empathy and compassion out without replenishing them,” Mason explains. “We need to practice empathy and compassion for ourselves as well. When you don't have anything left to give, you’ll sometimes see symptoms of depression or anxiety. You may see strain on the nursing units or a lack of investment in the work. It can actually place patients as well as nurses at risk.”
Self-Care Promotes Patient Safety and Higher-Quality Care
Provision 5.6 of the Code of Ethics addresses the interconnectedness of professional and personal growth.
“You can see why it's so critical that we do provide care for ourselves — we bring that into the workplace, and the quality excels,” Mason says. “It also complements others' work and promotes a higher quality provision of care. It's a responsibility to ourselves as well as our patients, our colleagues, and the health care environment in general.”
How to Create a Self-Care Plan for Nurses
Take the following steps to develop a self-care plan:
Step 1
The first step to crafting a reasonable self-care plan is self-reflection and self-assessment. Where are you currently with self-care? You may wish to assess the following areas of your life:
- Physical
- Mental
- Spiritual
- Personal
- Economic
- Psychological
Step 2
Identify growth opportunities. Mason recommends asking pointed questions: “Do you have a spiritual or self-care deficit? Are you not attending to your needs? Are you eating too much or not enough?”
Step 3
Decide which interventions you need to implement. Examples include:
- Physical. Get regular health screenings, eat nutritious meals, maintain a healthy weight, and exercise.
- Mental. Use relaxation and imagery techniques. Focus attention away from fear-based, negative thought patterns, and become more open to life-affirming information and thought patterns. Seek books and groups that promote joy, and pursue counseling if necessary.
- Spiritual. Engage in activities that develop your higher self. This could be accomplished via a religious affiliation, but it doesn’t have to be. Practice meditation or yoga, and say positive affirmations.
- Personal. Engage in truthful and caring self-reflection regarding your communication with others. Identify both the cohesiveness and the disharmony in your relationships. Strive to be aware of the effect both have on family and friends. Nurture important relationships.
- Economic. Live within your means. Take the steps necessary to balance your economic health. Sometimes, less is more.
- Psychological. Embrace your creativity and play. Identify what stimulates your mind and invest time into these activities.
“We've got to be advocates not only for our patients but for ourselves,” Mason says. “Look at the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation initiative. The American Nurses Association provides some wonderful recommendations on how nurses can practice self-care and lead a balanced life.”
>> Read: Self-Care for Nurses Part 2: Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Health Practices
How Nurse Managers Can Support Their Team
Nurse managers play a vital role in helping shape their team’s morale and ensuring that everyone is functioning at their best. Modeling self-help behaviors as a leader and implementing effective self-care strategies for nurses can have a significant impact.
Some self-care techniques that managers can incorporate into their own routines for modeling purposes include taking regular breaks, pursuing physical activity, establishing healthy boundaries, and focusing on their overall well-being. Once these behaviors are commonplace, it helps diminish the stigma often associated with discussing stress and mental health.
Also, by providing easy access to important self-care resources that emphasize staff well-being, nurse leaders open lines of communication that can benefit the nurses on their team.
Here are some ways a nurse leader can further enhance nurse self-care:
- Be mindful of hours worked. Studies show that limiting an existing workload or encouraging flexible work hours can have a positive effect on staff. This is a good way to monitor your nurses’ stress levels and prevent burnout.
- Take an open-communication approach. Set up regular meetings with your team of nurses to listen to their doubts or concerns. This approach can help improve efficiency and overall job performance.
- Make resources available. McKinsey’s research indicates that lack of knowledge, lack of resources, and fear of losing their job are the most common reasons nurses don’t seek mental health support. It recommends leaders establish support networks and provide help finding and accessing care.
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