Building resilience as a healthcare worker is very challenging, especially if you are in an understaffed healthcare institution. Here are some of the most basic tips you can try.
1️⃣ Make time for yourself – Take care of your own physical, emotional and mental well-being. Exercise, get enough sleep, eat a healthy diet, and unplug technology.
2️⃣ Use stress-management techniques – Do mindfulness practices such as meditation, yoga, or deep breathing to keep your stress levels down and remain focused and calm in and out of work.
3️⃣ Connect with colleagues and loved ones – Having a strong support network of colleagues, friends, family, and loved ones can help you cope with the demands of the job. Joining a professional association, or participating in employee assistance programs and employee support groups, can also be helpful.
4️⃣ Practice gratitude – Find things that you can be thankful for on a daily basis; it may be something small or huge. Have a positive attitude in your daily life.
5️⃣ Don’t let go of your purpose – Find the reason why you joined healthcare in the first place. Hold on to it and insert it into your current situation.
6️⃣ Upskill – It may seem counter-intuitive to do more when you’re already feeling swamped. But learning a new skill changes your monotone environment and may help you re-ignite your purpose for healthcare.
7️⃣ Set goals and boundaries – Have realistic goals and boundaries for yourself, don’t do more than you can handle physically or mentally.
8️⃣ Learn from experience – Reflecting on your past experiences and learning from them can help you build resilience for future challenges.
It’s important to note that resilience building is a continuous process, and it requires effort and dedication from the individual. Additionally, it’s important to understand that building resilience is not a magic solution for all the challenges of working in an understaffed institution. Still, it can help healthcare workers to cope with the stress and uncertainty of the job and provide better care to their patients. These steps above are just the tip of the iceberg. Our learnings and research about healthcare workers through years of experience and success have given us innovative insight into building resilience for healthcare workers. DCC’s Healthcare Now program offers a holistic approach to resilience, communication, self-care, and true teamwork for your healthcare institution. Let’s discuss the changes we can make for your culture. Please email us at info@davidcouperconsulting.com.