be nurtured – beyond Oncology

Strategies for Resilience and Self-Care

Nurturing Support

beyond Oncology’s goal is to help you examine ways to promote resiliency for a sustainable career in oncology. We have written hundreds of articles and blogs on topics such as self-care, stress management, compassion fatigue, moral distress, burnout, professional boundaries, and resilience among other topics. We focus on the “7 Cs” of resilience—Competence, Confidence, Connection, Character, Contribution, Coping, and Control.

Resilience is different than stress management. Resilience is building strategies and strength BEFORE stressful events occur, but stress management is dealing with the situation AFTER it occurs. Very resilient nurses constantly work at maintaining and gaining it. Our goal is to provide you with the tools and resources to nurture yourself to remain strong during adversity in order to build your resilience.

Nursing is stressful.

Stress attacks nurses from many different directions—COVID-19, frequency of natural disasters, the growing number of elderly populations with chronic diseases, growing national tensions, as well as personal issues. Although nursing stress is unavoidable, building resilience can help you not only survive but thrive. Nurses must remain cool, calm, and collected to thrive in today’s ever-changing healthcare environment.

Without nurturing, there are consequences.

Without nurturing, you are more prone to stress, burnout, and other health issues like compassion fatigue. Relentless stress can leave you feeling overwhelmed, emotionally drained, dissatisfied, and physically exhausted—all of which can lead to burnout. Being tired or overworked not only affects your health but can lead to poorer patient outcomes. Nurturing yourself improves mood, reduces anxiety, fights stress, and prevents burnout. It helps improve your wellbeing—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Nurturing takes practice.

Nurses are wired to put others first, so nurturing yourself (or self-care) does NOT come naturally. You likely focus on caring for others at the expense of yourself. In addition, due to the current shortage and COVID-19 pandemic, we know nurses are working extra shifts to support their colleagues. All of this can leave you dissatisfied, affecting your joy.

You must have well-defined nurturing strategies to protect yourself. You have to constantly assess your plans, especially during stressful times. Use this Resilience Four A’s Plan as a guide to evaluate your resilience.

Take an inventory of how you nurture yourself and if it is keeping your stress in check. Assess the basics—nutrition, sleep, activity, and relaxation methods. Explore ways to improve work–life balance, such as setting priorities, giving yourself permission to say “no,” and incorporating more activities to get your mind off work. Re-examine your professional boundaries as there is often a fine line between compassion and overinvolvement. Take time each day to nourish yourself to build resilience.