It’s finally the new year, and that means most of us are setting our intentions for the months to come. And for 2021, we invite you to set the intention of spending more time caring for you.
If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that we are human and have our own limits to what we can withstand before experiencing dreaded “burnout.” As nurses, we care for everyone around us, often neglecting our own needs; and frankly, the culture that glamorizes overworking ourselves needs to change.
Let’s normalize good sleep, good diet, exercise, relaxation, and time with family and friends. Take your breaks, eat a lunch, and for the love of god, don’t pick up that overtime shift if you don’t want to. Because if you don’t put yourself first, then who will?
Putting yourself first might look differently for everyone. For some, it might mean taking steps toward financial freedom, for others it might be setting boundaries or simply getting more sleep. Whatever your journey entails, we have put together a guide to help you thrive and put yourself first in the new year.
1. Prepare Easy, Nutritious Meals
Nutrition and nourishment are two critical elements of nurse wellness. Last year we learned how to meal prep in style with the one and only Joy Bauer! Joy led our nurses through a power-packed meal snack demo and opened the floor for live nutrition Q&A. From Chocolate-Peanut Butter Energy Bites to Blackberry Margaritas, these recipes have your belly and taste buds covered. You can find her recipes and the full recording of the event below!
2. Care for Your Skin
It’s no secret that our skin has suffered from prolonged mask wearing. We want our nurses to look and feel their best, no matter the circumstances, so we had board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Francisca Kartono, lead our nurses through an interactive skincare session.
From addressing and healing PPE damage, to affordable skincare regimens and product recommendations, she answered all of our skin queries on the spot. Learn how to combat skin breakdown from N95s and treat "maskne" below.
3. Learn New Budgeting Strategies
Nurses don’t always consider their finances as part of their overall wellness, but we can all agree that our financial situation can greatly affect all aspects of our lives. After all, nurses can retire wealthier than doctors if they simply employ a few key strategies.
So, maybe you want to become more financially savvy in the new year? We had Lauren Mochizuki, RN, teach us how to make a budget that is personally crafted to fit your lifestyle and achieve your financial goals. Below, you'll learn the foundation of creating a life of financial freedom and more.
4. Take Better Care of Your Mental Health
If working during the pandemic has affected your mental health, you are not alone. Trusted Community Ambassador Lauren Rodriguez, RN, spent 30 minutes chatting on Instagram Live with therapist Meghan Watson. They discussed the current mental health crisis affecting nurses and other healthcare workers, strategies to combat stress in the moment, and how to get professional help if needed. You can catch the recording on IG Live with the link here.
You can also visit our Mental Health Resources page for more tools and information.
5. Achieve Better Sleep
We could all probably use a little more sleep... but working shifts, especially night shifts, is not always conducive to getting the highest quality (or quantity) of sleep. So what can we do? We spoke with renowned sleep expert Dr. Lois James on The Handoff Podcast to talk about the intersection of sleep and nursing. She covers topics of sleep hygiene, realistic fatigue countermeasures, and the best sleep rotations. You can listen to the full podcast episode here.
You can also watch Dr. James share a few more sleeping tips below!
6. Find and Land Telehealth Jobs
Maybe taking a break from the bedside or exploring a nontraditional nursing role is in your future. Sadie Glisson from The Remote Nurse shared with us a variety of remote nursing opportunities, along with a live screen-share detailing how to find these jobs utilizing online job boards, search tools, networking platforms, and more. Give it a watch to best position yourself and your job search to find the remote nursing job you've been looking for.
Bonus: Try Travel Nursing!
Have you been considering travel nursing for a while? Well, 2021 is your year to finally give it a shot! Not sure where to start? We’ve got you. Simply create a Trusted profile, and we’ll walk you through every step of the way!
We hope you find these resources helpful as we head into 2021. We will continue to strive to find ways to support the whole nurse in this year to come, so be sure to join our community for first access to all of our events created specifically for nurses. Sending you love, light, and laughter as we jump into this new year together!
