One of Catherine McAuley’s concepts of careful nursing is self-care for nurses. Today, the scope of self-care for healthcare providers has expanded significantly compared to the days of Catherine McAuley. Moreover, the main focus is on the mental state of medical workers, and special coping strategies have been developed. Therefore, this paper will analyze changes in the approach to self-care for nurses in McAuley’s time and today.
The work of nurses is often tense and stressful, as well as extreme conditions and work schedules. By taking care of themselves, nurses can improve the quality of patient care, so self-care is an important part of their job (Horn & Johnston, 2020). However, in McAuley’s time, this concept primarily meant the physical health of nurses. It may have included paying attention to one’s health and understanding the risks of contracting various diseases from patients. In addition, an important way of self-care at all times is healthy eating and sleep, which promote the resilience of healthcare providers (Horn & Johnston, 2020). Thus, self-care improves the quality of healthcare services provided to patients.
Today, much more attention is paid to the mental health of medical workers, and self-care is aimed at relieving stress and preventing burnout. Sleep, nutrition, and exercise help keep nurses emotionally fit. In addition, researchers recommend maintaining friendly communication with colleagues and using different coping strategies, like mindfulness (Horn & Johnston, 2020). That contributes to raising the level of job satisfaction, reducing the risks of professional burnout, and, as a result, improving the quality of care and patient safety.
Thus, at all times, self-care has been the most important rule that nurses must follow. While the focus has shifted from the physical to the psychological healthcare worker, the basic self-care practices remain the same, including healthy sleep and nutrition. Concern for the health of medical workers effectively affects the quality of patient care and their emotional and physical resilience to various situations that may occur in practice.
Reference
Horn, D. J., & Johnston, C. B. (2020). Burnout and self care for palliative care practitioners. Medical Clinics, 104(3), 561-572. Web.