What happens when we take care of ourselves and allow ourselves to be cared for?
The impact of our lived way on those we care for
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Self care
Self care is on the nursing and midwifery radar. It has been recognised internationally by many nursing and midwifery organisations as being vitally important not only to the ongoing health and well-being of nurses and midwives, but also as part of the sustainability of our nursing and midwifery workforce. So, how do we translate what we know is important into something that is a natural part of our everyday? Self care is not meant to be an additional burden, complex, or difficult.
Self-Care is:
very simple
practical
developing a listening ear to the messages of our body and then honouring those messages
not about being perfect
developing honesty with oneself without judgement or criticism
And, it is a lot of fun, beginning to explore self-care for ourselves.
Most importantly, self care is about developing the quality in which we live every day. What this means is, given all the activities we do each day, the way we attend to everything matters, not only for others, but equally for ourselves.
Considering ourselves in everything that we do in our day is key.
The potential and power of self-care should not be underestimated.
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Self care meets true care in nursing
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Taking care of ourselves in the enormity of our work as midwives
It would be rose-tinted to pretend working as a midwife is an easy job… that is the ‘enormity’ bit and it is all too common to find ourselves overwhelmed, in levels of shock and/or exhausted at the end of a shift. What happens next is key to how we feel ongoingly. Do...
Self care – you must be kidding!
If anyone had said to me twelve years ago, that self-care was essential for nurses to look after themselves and to equally manage their work day more effectively I would have probably thought that it was a joke. Back then, I was working as a clinical manager in a 75...