As we have been discussing for the last week, self care for nurses is very important.  Self care is so important it is in the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses.  Provision five in the ANA Code of Ethics reads “The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to promote health and safety, preserve wholeness of character and integrity, maintain competence, and continue personal and professional growth.”

From Practicing Self-Care for Nurses: A Nursing Program Initiative, “You cannot keep giving to others if you do not give to yourself, first. It is like pouring water from a vessel: you cannot pour and pour without ever refilling it – eventually it will run dry.”

Below please find a list of suggested ways (though not complete!) of some ways to self care. A printable version can be found here.

1. Download (and use) mediation apps on your phone
2. Take an Epson salt bath
3. Take a hike
4. Invest in a fresh set of scrubs
5. If you have kids, color with them. If you don’t have kids, color anyway. Find some coloring sheets here
6. Take the time to read a book. Bonus points for starting a book club with co-workers.
7. Spend time reading about a new hobby you’d like to get started on soon.
8. Meal prep healthy work snacks.
9. Watch a movie from your youth
10. Surround yourself in a calming scent with lavender candles or essential oil.
11. Go for a walk or for a run
12. Download a podcast
13. Download a game to your phone
14. Organize your junk drawer.
15. Take a nap.
16. Try to cook a new cuisine to you.
17. Start a garden at your home
18. Download a “Learn a foreign language” app
19. Create a journal.  See samples of a bullet journal, a writing journal, a dream journal, a food journal, a travel journal and a gratitude journal.
20. Give yourself a positive affirmation every morning