Five tips for staying healthy while working in healthcare

It is difficult to imagine a field more important to daily life than healthcare. From discovering new treatments to successfully implementing old ones and everything in between, medical professionals are responsible for keeping the population as healthy as possible.

Of those professionals, nurses are typically seen as the backbone of the industry. They take care of patients every step of the way through the healthcare system. Whether patients need their vitals checked or require intensive care, nurses have the expertise and patience to provide the best care possible. With all of their attention focused on other people, however, nurses don’t always do the same for themselves.

The importance of healthy nurses is impossible to overstate, as is the health of other professionals working in healthcare. This article will explore what healthcare professionals can do to keep themselves healthy while juggling long shifts and stressful encounters.

The importance of staying healthy while working in healthcare

Professionals working in medicine are responsible for healthcare on an individual as well as group level. Depending on the exact job in question, they serve not just individual patients, but also the larger public. If they aren’t in good condition, then the care they provide might not be optimal.

Remember that the impact of poor health, especially when it affects sleep, is difficulty concentrating, difficulty communicating and lower energy levels. This means that professionals who are struggling with ill health, including insomnia (a common issue among healthcare workers), are less alert, less focused, less energetic and even less able to communicate with patients and their coworkers than they are otherwise. The number of medical workers experiencing health concerns, whether they are physical or mental in nature, is only growing as time passes.

More specifically, healthcare workers experience more stress than people in other fields and other positions. There are a number of reasons behind this, with the most common being:

• Too few members of staff
• Heavy workload
• High expectations
• Long hours
• Workplace-specific hazards

From working with demanding patients to working without much of a break, healthcare workers are subject to almost unimaginable amounts of pressure. In such a high-demand profession, the importance of self-care in order to combat burnout and other health ailments is critical. The industry is facing a shortage of qualified professionals, however, especially when it comes to nursing. Thanks to staff levels that are lower than they should be, medical workers don’t have the kind of time away that they need to function optimally.

Taking care of your health is critical as a healthcare worker, but how can you prioritize yourself when you have so many people to care for? Below, we look at some of the things you can do to take care of yourself.

Delegate

Life is stressful enough for healthcare workers when they only have to look after themselves as well as their patients. However, patients typically aren’t the only people they have to care for – many of the busiest nurses and doctors have families of their own. This means that even when they are not working, these individuals are still busy caring for other people. Moreover, healthcare professionals often feel the need to ‘make up’ for all the time they spend at work by spending even more time with their loved ones than they might otherwise.

All these reactions are completely understandable. Of course, you are worried about your family! They are just as precious, if not much more so, as your patients and need just as much time. The problem here is that there simply isn’t enough time in the day for you to take care of your needs as well as the needs of everyone else in your life. You must delegate in order to find the time to care for yourself as well as those you love.

One way that you can delegate is to create a chore chart and give your children things they need to accomplish every day. Make sure that they understand why you are asking for help. Sometimes we ignore requests that seem ‘unreasonable’ when we would be happy to listen to them under other circumstances. Explain to your loved ones just how busy you are at work. Don’t sugarcoat things too much. Ideally, your loved ones should understand that they need to help out every day if you are to spend sufficient time with them. Also include your spouse in these discussions, if applicable.

Don’t be afraid to rely on others and to expect them to hold up their part of the bargain. You don’t exist in a vacuum and the people you love – who also love you – should put in some work to help you maintain your health. Whether you need help washing clothes every day, preparing meals, doing the grocery shopping or even picking your children up from school, reach out for help.

Eat well

This will likely elicit a few eye rolls, but it is incredibly important to eat well when you are under stress. It is important always, of course, but especially when you are relying on your energy as well as the ability to concentrate to make it through shifts. Pick nutrient-dense food that is easy to grab on the run so that you can make it to work on time without taking too much time to prepare your meals for the day (or days, depending on your shifts).

With the above in mind, there are a few other things to consider when planning out your meals for the week. Sometimes it is more about when you eat and how you eat than it is about what you eat. Eating healthy food on its own is important and will likely give you much more energy than junk food. Consuming that food on the right schedule can further maximize your energy output and enhance your ability to concentrate.

The good news is that eating to optimize your energy is easy. You don’t need elaborate meal plans or long breaks. All you need to do is grab a bite to eat whenever you can throughout the day. This is actually an easier schedule than trying to manage substantial meals three times a day as a healthcare worker. If you are working as a nurse, for example, you know that long breaks, even of just 30 minutes at a time, are almost impossible to coordinate. Even with the best of intentions, something always seems to come up. And if you are banking on that time to eat an entire meal in one go, then you will likely end up frustrated and hungry.

Instead, embrace the fast-paced workstyle. If you find that you have a five- or 10-minute opening, zip over to your locker or the staff room and take out a portion of food. When energy is the goal, big meals can seem daunting, so it’s important to be table to focus on the goals that are more achievable. Focus on smaller snacks and meals throughout the day whenever possible. Make your food into easily grabbable portions and keep them easily accessible throughout the day.

Remember, eating well shouldn’t be a goal; it should be the norm, especially when you are working in a field as high pressure as healthcare. Don’t wait until you burn out to consider making positive changes to your diet! Start now and reap the benefits in the future.

Make time for self-care

I know – if it were easy to find time to take care of yourself, you probably wouldn’t be reading this. However, just as eating balanced meals or snacks should be the expectation, caring for yourself shouldn’t be considered an optional activity. On the contrary, you should worry about your own health needs every day as much as possible.

People often run into issues when planning self-care because they are looking for large blocks of uninterrupted time. Just as breaking up your meals from the start and adopting a more flexible eating schedule that takes advantage of your busy schedule is more conducive to good health, so also is accepting that you might not ever have an uninterrupted hour to yourself, at least at work. And if you are caring for children or other loved ones outside of work, then you might not find any time there either.

So, what is the solution? To put it simply, the solution is to stop thinking of self-care time as a significant portion of unused time. You can also exercise self-care in small bursts. Taking a luxurious bubble bath and eating a quiet dinner of your favorite food might not always be possible, but what about eating a snack that you love and spending five minutes taking a few deep breaths? This is also self-care.

As it can be difficult to come up with self-care options when you’re busy, let’s discuss some of the most common options. Just remember that you can (and should) always change them when something else comes to mind! First, think about what makes you happy. Do you have a favorite food? How about a favorite song? When you are working, consider indulging in both of these. Whenever you can find a few minutes alone to eat, put your favorite song on in your earbuds, eat your favorite snack, and try to worry only about yourself.

When you are at home and perhaps have a bit more time, think more broadly. Do you love watching movies? If you have a family and need to incorporate them into your self-care, why not organize a movie night? Pick something that you’ll enjoy and snuggle in for the evening. If you have the luxury of alone time, a hot shower followed by your favorite dinner or even an early night’s sleep can often be incredibly refreshing.

Regardless of what form your self-care takes, the important thing is that you do it regularly. Fit at least one thing solely dedicated to your mood and happiness into your routine every day.

Practice self-awareness

Depending on your job, you might find yourself face to face with patients as they hear tragic news, or even with their families after an unexpected demise. Beyond these moments, the everyday stressors of working in a busy environment are equally as stressful and potentially draining. These experiences are largely unavoidable, though you can handle how you react to them.

The first step is to be aware of your feelings. Instead of trying to bury them or chastising yourself for feeling the way that you do, learn to acknowledge them and accept them. If we know anything from experience, it’s that trying to bury strong emotions is almost never successful in the long run. Whether those emotions come pouring out at an inopportune time or simply fester under the surface, they can impact your overall happiness and wellbeing.

When you understand how you feel, you can start putting together a plan to deal with the emotions. Some people find reflective activities such as journaling to be especially soothing, while others find it more beneficial to speak with professionals about their struggles and concerns. Maybe you find that something else is helpful? The goal is to work on your feelings instead of hiding them or becoming frustrated with yourself for having them.

Remember, it is not self-indulgent to feel sad, or upset or helpless. Accepting these emotions and learning how to address them every day is an important skill for almost every healthcare worker currently in the industry. This is a particularly tricky skill to master, but there are a few ways to get there. First, completing one of the master’s in nursing programs at an accredited university with experienced professors will go a long way toward building those skills. The course at Rockhurst University, for example, offers students a comprehensive nursing degree that will prepare them on multiple different levels for their careers. The second way to improve your self-awareness is to practice it every day. Why do you feel upset? Why are you so stressed? Recognize these emotions and think through how you can overcome them regardless of the situation.

Manage your emotions

This might sound counter to the advice above, but hear us out. In order to focus on your daily work and give patients the best care you can provide, you have to manage your emotions rather than allowing your emotions to manage you. Emotional triggers exist all over the place, and you might very well run into some of them while you’re working. Professionals who have good self-management skills are able to recognize the trigger and how they are feeling about it, while also setting it aside to sort through at a more appropriate time. Professionals who do not have good self-management skills, on the other hand, might lash out at patients or coworkers or even start crying.

We are all human and have human emotions, but this doesn’t mean that we can’t recognize potential issues ahead of time and do our best to minimize the impact they have on us until it is safe to sort through them. You can’t control the act of being affected by an emotional trigger – that’s a largely involuntary reaction. What you can control is how you react to the trigger.

Ideally, you should be able to set aside the feelings that the emotional trigger elicits until you are at home and have the time to practice some of the self-awareness tips that we describe above.

Wrapping up

What do you think about our tips for healthy, happy healthcare workers? Keep them in mind as you build your career, and you’ll have a great foundation to build on.