New resources for nurses to promote well-being
By Annette Weeres
During RPNAO’s 2017 provincial Innovation Tour, RPNs who participated in focus groups told us that the pressures in our health care system related to increasing workload, decreasing resources and changing work environment were placing higher physical and psychological demands on health care providers. RPNs specifically wanted new supports to address the stressors they faced every day in their work environments, so we made that a priority area.
To respond to this need, RPNAO developed a self-learning module called Self Care for Nurses in 2017. However, after seeing growing evidence of the pressures across our health system, RPNAO took several actions to expand this focus. In 2018, we added app reviews to our resour- ces that support self-care. In March 2019, we hosted an Address the Stress Day for RPNs that was focused on self-care and leadership develop- ment. This day also saw the introduc- tion of Joy in Work Fellowships that provide an opportunity for RPNs to lead projects focused on improving health care provider work environ- ments. Evaluations from this well- attended event highlighted the need for more self-care supports.
Intent on enhancing our resources, while recognizing the importance of all three domains of self-care (emo- tional, mental and physical wellness), we asked RPNs to tell us which one we should expand first. Using our new online Hub, RPNs selected the domain of self-care that is most important to them. By July 2019, it was clear that the first domain to expand would be mental wellness.
This direction has guided our work, and in early August we released new mental wellness supports that include three new modules, an interactive scenario for learning and more reviewed self-care apps. We have also added three new physical wellness modules, an interactive learning scenario and reviewed apps focused on physical wellness. The final two emotional wellness modules, specific reviewed apps and an interactive scenario became available in early September. Each domain provides more information about the factors that may affect a nurse’s well-being and steps that a nurse can take to improve self-care.
We hope these resources (www. rpnao.org/content/self-care-nurses) help promote nurses’ wellness and support the quality they want to provide in the delivery of optimal care for patients and their families.
