Nurse Wellbeing Mission: Recent Episodes
Nathan Illman
More than just a podcast, Nurse Wellbeing Mission aspires to be a movement that puts nurse and midwife wellbeing at the top of the agenda in healthcare. Each episode aims to help nurses and midwives around the world flourish through informative, inspiring and practical conversations.
The podcast is presented by Dr Nathan Illman, Clinical Psychologist and passionate preventative mental health advocate. Each week, Nathan hosts a conversation with an expert in nurse wellbeing, or delivers a solo episode explaining a skill that nurses can use to optimize their health and reduce stress. Join us every two weeks on a Tuesday and become part of the mission.
In this episode, we delve into the world of mental health nursing with Jane Fisher, a lecturer in the field and a service user herself.
Jane shares her experiences and insights on self-disclosure, the complex identities nurses with mental health challenges navigate, and the power of authenticity in nursing practice.
She emphasizes the importance of developing advanced interpersonal skills and fostering a human-to-human connection in mental health nursing.
This episode unravels how Jane's journey as a nurse, lecturer, mental health service user, and psychiatric survivor has shaped her unique perspective on the field.
Key Takeaways from this Episode
Jane discusses her role as a mental health nurse lecturer and her commitment to supporting students who have their own mental health challenges.
- The prevalence of students entering mental health nursing programs with pre-existing mental health conditions.
- The challenges of transitioning from being a nurse to becoming a mental health service user and the power imbalances that come with it.
- The impact of stigma on mental health professionals who have their own mental health challenges.
Jane shares her journey of embracing her multiple identities, including being a wounded healer, an empowered professional, a nurse, and a psychiatric survivor.
The importance of authenticity and acceptance in the mental health nursing profession.
How self-disclosure can be a valuable tool when used for the benefit of service users and students.
The need for tailored support and supervision for nurses with their own lived experience of mental illness.
Jane's perspective on the gaps in mental health nurse education and the essential interpersonal skills required for the profession.
Today's Guest:
Jane Fisher, a mental health nurse lecturer and service user, brings her wealth of experience to the field. Her journey through mental health challenges has ignited a passion for authenticity and support within the profession. Jane dedicates her time to guiding pre-registration nursing students, helping them navigate their path as mental health nurses. She emphasizes that personal experiences with mental health issues should not deter individuals from pursuing a career in the field. Her unique perspective on identity, self-disclosure, and the multifaceted roles of mental health professionals enriches the education of her students.
Jane's commitment to mental health nursing extends to advocating for a more authentic and inclusive approach to mental health care, benefiting both patients and colleagues.
Connect with Jane Fisher here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jane_fisher2
Read Jane’s Articles Here:
- Who am I? The identity crisis of mental health professionals living with mental illness
- The Problem with Resilience
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Join our free Facebook group for wellbeing resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Find our wellbeing services at our website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
It is such a common strategy or coping approach for many nurses to bottle up their feelings and hold on to things. This strategy makes sense in some circumstances. But in the long-run, it can be harmful.
In this podcast episode, Nathan Illman discusses the common phenomenon of bottling up, or suppressing, emotions. He provides a step-by-step process for individuals to start acknowledging and expressing their emotions. And he shows how you can support those you work with how to process emotions too.
Tune in to this episode as Nathan offers valuable insights and practical advice for nurses and healthcare professionals to improve well-being and foster open conversations about emotions.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
Nathan discusses early experiences and cultural influences shaping emotional responses.
- Societal norms influencing the expression of anger, especially among women.
- Cultural variations in expressing emotions based on experiences.
The effects of bottling up emotions.
Self-reflection on the usefulness of bottling emotions.
Nathan emphasizes the importance of cultural competence and understanding diverse emotional responses.
Nathan offers strategies for individuals to explore and overcome emotional suppression.
Describing emotions as an aid in identifying and expressing their feelings.
Nathan gives a guide for professionals who are supporting individuals in the context of supervision or line management.
If you have found this helpful, you can check out Nathan’s self-compassion course for nurses online.
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Join our free Facebook group for wellbeing resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Find our wellbeing services at our website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
Today's guest is Dr. Emma Wadey, a registered mental health nurse and Deputy Director of Mental Health Nursing for NHS England and Improvement.
Emma's humility shines through in her clinical work and leadership style. We discuss her experiences, including public speaking anxiety, her unexpected path into nursing, the impact of nursing identity, and her love for marathon running.
We also explore the Professional Nurse Advocacy Program, which Emma helped create, in part to prevent nurse suicides.
This episode offers valuable insights and practical takeaways for nurses of all backgrounds, emphasizing the importance of well-being and humility.
Key Takeaways from this Episode
Emma talked about the anxiety and challenges of virtual presentations.
Emma shared about the two things that drive her to keep going:
- Role modeling means doing as you say.
- A little bit of anxiety is a good thing.
The balance between advocating for one's profession and self-care.
Emma talks about the transformative power of engaging in physical activity such as running.
The value of self-awareness and self-care in maintaining a balanced life for Emma, especially with children.
Emma shares about the unexpected career shifts in her life and the lessons she learned from having a flexible career path.
Emma gives an overview of the PNA program.
The link between PNA and suicide prevention.
Emma encourages PNAs, emphasizing their value in promoting self-care and reaching for support.
Today's Guest:
Dr. Emma Wadey is a mental health nurse with over 20 years of experience and maintains clinical practice in a local psychiatric liaison service. She specializes in treating complex trauma, self-harm, and suicidality, drawing from her experience with suicide's impact. Emma co-produced teaching materials on supporting those with suicidal tendencies. She contributed to the creation of the StayAlive suicide prevention app. She's involved in developing the competency framework for self-harm and suicide. She serves as a national clinical adviser for the Mental Health Service Improvement Programme and clinical lead for the National Nurse Retention Programme.
In addition to her professional achievements, Emma embarked on marathon running as a mid-life endeavor, completing four of the Abbots World Major Marathons with plans to conquer the remaining two.
Connect with Dr. Emma Wadey here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmawadey/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NursingEmma
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Join our free Facebook group for wellbeing resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Find our wellbeing services at our website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
District Nursing is a tough business. Long hours, solo working in complex and challenging environments. Not to mention the distressing and sometimes dangerous situations nurses are placed in.
This can all take its toll on nurses' mental health. Which is why it is CRUCIAL to have a compassionate team leader who knows how to support their staff.
Enter Helen Kelly. In today's super insightful and practical episode, Helen shares how she transformed a downbeat team of District Nurses into a cohesive, loving, trusting, and effective unit with super patient outcomes.
Today, we embark on a journey to explore the essence of team effectiveness and the art of cultivating a supportive environment.
Join us as we delve into the experiences and insights of this remarkable nursing team leader, Helen, who has not only weathered the storm but has also sown the seeds of compassion, resilience, and well-being within her team.
Key Takeaways from this episode
Helen highlights the importance of staff well-being and prioritizing mental health.
She also discusses the importance of local-level support for team members and the need for a safe and open environment to discuss emotions and stress.
Changes Helen made to creative a thriving team:
Having an open door policy, and being present and empathic with her staff at all times.
Introduction of calming plants in each office to improve air quality and create a positive atmosphere.
The "Guardian Angel" program, where team members anonymously support each other with gestures of kindness and appreciation.
A reflective corner with coloring materials and affirmations to provide a space for relaxation and emotional support.
A well-being box stocked with essential items
Helen discusses the importance of focusing on the well-being of nursing staff to ensure they can provide the best care to patients.
Today's Guest:
Helen Kelly is an operational team lead for a district nursing service in Sussex, England. Helen's service had introduced several changes to how they ran things within the group, many different initiatives which had led to a massive improvement in well being within the team and people feeling supported.
Helen's approach has been genuinely preventative. She created a culture where people feel supported, and their distress is minimized.
Connect with Helen on Twitter here: @HeleMorrison
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Join our free Facebook group for wellbeing resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Find our wellbeing services at our website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
In this engaging and insightful podcast episode we talk to Deepa Korea, the Director of the RCN Foundation, a leading UK charity for nurses and midwives. She discusses the organization's mission to support nursing and midwifery staff through grants, research, and advocacy.
She candidly addresses imposter syndrome and the evolution of her mindset, highlighting the significance of self-care and believing in one's value.
This episode showcases Deepa's passion, leadership, and commitment to enhancing the wellbeing and impact of nursing and midwifery professionals.
Key Takeaways from this Episode
Deepa discusses the RCN Foundation as an independent charity supporting nursing and midwifery staff.
Deepa's background in the charity sector and diverse career experiences led her journey with the RCN Foundation.
Deepa discusses the power of nursing staff's care, compassion, and expertise as she shares her child's experience with a nurse.
It is essential to address burnout and mental health challenges in ensuring the wellbeing of healthcare professionals.
Practicing self-care and valuing one's expertise in creating a culture that values staff wellbeing is essential.
Deepa shares her experience with imposter syndrome and the importance of acknowledging and overcoming it.
She talks about her vision for the RCN Foundation's future and role in supporting nursing and midwifery research for practice improvement.
Today's Guest:
Deepa Korea is the director of the RCN Foundation. The RCN Foundation is a leading UK charity that supports the wellbeing and further education of nurses and midwives. She shares her journey into the charity sector and her deep respect for nursing.
Deepa envisions a future where the RCN Foundation continues to provide essential support for nurses, tackles mental health issues, and fosters a culture of nursing-led research.
Connect with Deepa Korea here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepa-korea-146b97a/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/deepa_korea
Want to know more about RCN Foundation? Go to:
https://rcnfoundation.rcn.org.uk/
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Join our free Facebook group for wellbeing resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Find our wellbeing services at our website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
All nurses and midwives experience stress in the course of their work.
Having ways to quickly manage stress is crucial for one’s wellbeing and performance at work.
In this solo episode, Nathan shares a powerful tool that helps to relieve stress, understand one’s emotions better, and develop self-compassion.
It is a useful exercise that any nurse or midwife can practice. It could also easily be incorporated into restorative supervision sessions or any wellbeing activity with your colleagues.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
Activation of the sympathetic nervous system leads to physiological responses to stress.
Stress is often experienced as an amorphous "blob" of emotions. This is not very helpful for us.
Nathan discussed the importance of identifying and naming specific emotions.
When we have a more significant emotional vocabulary, that helps us to process emotions better.
When we practice pausing and naming our emotions in the moment, it helps us understand how we're truly feeling about something.
Nathan shared the P.N.A. Process for Self-Compassion
P: Pause - Taking a moment to recognize stress and emotions
N: Naming the emotions underlying stress
A: Allowing the emotions to be present without judgment
Self-compassion can have a substantial cumulative impact on our mental and physical health.
To download the companion workbook and guide that goes with this episode, head over to this link: https://nurse-wellbeing-mission.mylearnworlds.com/relievestressebook
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Join our free Facebook group for wellbeing resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Find our wellbeing services at our website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
In today's episode, we will be tackling the question of whether mental health nursing students are being given adequate preparation and training in mental health.
In this insightful discussion, I talk with Dan Warrender about the challenges and concerns surrounding mental health nurse education.
He highlights the impact of the Nursing and Midwifery Council's future nurse standards, emphasizing the lack of protection and inadequate focus on mental health nursing.
The conversation serves as a rallying call for increased support, advocacy, and collaboration to enhance mental health care and ensure a more specialized and empathetic nursing workforce.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
Dan talks about how he had worked with people clinically where their perspective after getting a diagnosis is that there's something wrong with them as a human being.
Dan stresses the significance of self-awareness and proper therapeutic training in preparing mental health nurses for their demanding roles.
Unique challenges in terms of student wellbeing that Dan sees around mental health nursing.
- Mental health nursing has much more complexity around that and not just talking to people about their thoughts and feelings.
- The practice education document across the United Kingdom has been shaped in a way that probably suits adult nursing, and does not provide enough room for the specialist training required for MH nursing.
He expresses concerns about the potential toll on students' well-being when entering uncertain and complex clinical environments.
Additionally, Dan raises crucial points about the need for nurses to advocate for their patients and the potential repercussions of not being adequately prepared.
He sheds light on the grassroots movement "Mental Health Deserves Better," which aims to promote change and improvement in mental health nurse education.
Today’s guest:
Dan Warrender is a mental health nurse, lecturer, and mentalisation-based treatment practitioner, and is currently undertaking a Ph.D. exploring experiences of crisis intervention for people diagnosed with ‘borderline personality disorder’.
He is a member of the executive group for the Scottish Personality Disorder Network and has contributed to best practice statements locally and nationally. Topics of his writing, speaking, and interest include ‘personality disorder’, the limitations of psychiatric diagnosis, trauma-informed care, ethics, risk, and the identity and education of mental health nurses.
Further to an MA in Philosophy and a working background in learning difficulties, Dan qualified as a mental health nurse from Robert Gordon University in September 2011, and chose to work in acute mental health. Gaining a place on the Early Clinical Career Fellowship (ECCF) 2012, he completed an MSc Nursing, undertaking primary research and disseminating this nationally and internationally. He is currently undertaking a PhD exploring peoples experiences of crisis intervention for people with a diagnosis of ‘borderline personality disorder’.
As well as his teaching and research interests, Dan is a registered Mentalization Based Therapist with the British Psychoanalytic Council and continues to practice this within the NHS, as well as providing clinical supervision for mental health staff. He has also been involved with strategic groups regarding the care of people diagnosed with ‘personality disorders’, and is an active member of the Scottish Personality Disorders Network Executive Group. Dan has been critical of the lack of autonomy for the ideological direction of mental health nursing within the nursing profession, speaking at the Royal College of Nursing congress 2022, and being selected as the keynote speaker for Mental Health Nurse Academics UK 2022, presenting "Ghost or phoenix: the disappearance or rise of mental health nursing".
Connect with Dan Warrender here:
Email: d.r.warrender2@rgu.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-warrender
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dan_warrender
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Join our free Facebook group for wellbeing resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Find our wellbeing services at our website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
Today’s episode is all about the story of how nurses are supporting other nurses in the UK.
We dive deep into the Professional Nurse Advocacy (PNA) program in the UK and how it is helping with nurse wellbeing and staff retention.
I chat to Martin Hogan, Lead Professional Nurse Advocate for a large healthcare organisation in the UK. He shares his story of how he got into supporting other nurses, and how his leadership is making an impact on staff wellbeing.
Thinking about becoming a PNA? Want to know more about the program?
Listen to this conversation as Martin shares how being a PNA has changed his life and that of others.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
PNAs are trained to provide Restorative Clinical Supervision (RCS). This is a psychologically safe, confidential space where you can talk about how you are and offload.
Martin sees himself as an emotional detective that explores things about other people, their coping strategies, and what he can do to help.
Informal corridor conversation is where Martin had typically received his own supervision, before more formalised systems like the PNA program. This is likely true of many nurses.
Martin shared that he gained much from the PNA course and changed his practice as a result.
Being a PNA enables you to be really in touch with your own human experience. It permits you to acknowledge your feelings.
Through compassionate communication, Martin knew that he could support people through anything.
Empathic listening is all someone needs to begin with to feel heard, understood, and safe.
Martin talks about the structure of sessions when running a PNA session.
Feedback from others about the PNA program has been overwhelmingly positive for Martin. It has helped improve wellbeing in staff and has led to increased retention of staff where he works.
Martin shares information about the roll-out of the PNA program and how people can access it.
We discussed barriers to the program being adopted within nursing. We discuss how some older colleagues may be resistant to change. However, many younger nurses “get” the idea of clinical supervision and have a desire to discuss emotions.
Today's Guest:
Martin Hogan is a lead professional nurse advocate at Central London Community Healthcare. After the first wave of the Covid pandemic, he was redeployed from his Macmillan specialist nurse role in acute oncology to intensive care. However, being redeployed to intensive care, he found people did sit him down and openly talk about their feelings, which he found crucial as a form of preventative mental health first aid.
After the second wave of the pandemic, Martin decided to continue to champion the voice of his nursing profession and join the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) as the Senior Officer for Surrey.
In 2021, his career took on to work within mental health and education. At that point, he took the Professional Nurse Advocate (PNA) course at Kingston University.
Connect with Martin Hogan here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-hogan-b0a167138/
https://twitter.com/advocacy_forum
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Join our free Facebook group for wellbeing resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Find our wellbeing services at our website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
Are you someone who neglects their needs and struggles with implementing self-care?
Many nurses and midwives struggle with burnout and not taking appropriate care of themselves.
There is a real art and science to making behaviour change and properly taking care of ourselves.
In this episode, Nathan will share with us some empowering questions that we can use to coach ourselves to start living a healthier life and prevent burnout.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
The way we talk to ourselves dictates our behavior.
Asking questions or different questions enables us to have different outcomes in our life.
When we have too many competing goals, our brains cannot focus on one thing.
When we allow ourselves to be guided by our feelings, we often do not follow through with the things that are important to us.
Example: Don’t feel motivated, therefore don’t go to my dance class.
In the episode, Nathan goes through the following questions as a process you can follow (listen to the episode for more context and explanation):
If I am being honest with myself, if I rated my current approach to my own well-being on a scale of 1 to 10, what score would I give it? (1 = dissatisfied, 10 = very satisfied)
Ask, “What actions am I taking that enabled me to come up with that number?”
What will it take to get from the original number I gave myself to go up a couple of notches on that scale?
Who and what is most important to me in my life? How does my current approach to my own well-being impact what is important to me in my life?
If my health were to improve by 10%, how might that benefit these things that are important to me? Just consider for a moment your current state of health.
If I were to focus on just one area of my well-being, one place of my self-care, which one feels most important to me right now?
What is a minor action I could start taking today? What is one small step I could take?
What is a realistic goal for me to start making significant gains with this aspect of my well-being?
When I have tried to make these changes, what opposite goals, challenges, and barriers have I come up against?
What are some of the excuses that I intended to give myself?
What do I need to tell myself to set me up for success? What is it that I need to hear to help me take these small self-care actions?
So now you have a plan - go out and do it and share your success with someone in your life!
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Join our free Facebook group for wellbeing resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Find our wellbeing services at our website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
Join our free Facebook group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/nurse...
Nursing seemed like a good career path for Emma Henry. She had finally found a profession she enjoyed, where she felt she could make a difference.
But things changed. She had stressful experiences with her young children. She had stressful experiences at work. As things deteriorated, the unimaginable happened: She started experiencing hallucinations and delusions. She was having a psychotic episode.
Listen to this powerful conversation as we dive deep into Emma’s mental health journey and subsequent recovery.
We’ll see what factors led to Emma’s decline in mental health, and hear all about how she has now retrained as an Emotional Freedom Technique therapist and helps nurses with their own stress.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM EMMA’S JOURNEY IN THIS EPISODE
It is not healthy when somebody tells you to go back to work when you do not feel safe to go back to work.
Having at least one compassionate person who will make you feel heard is vital.
Nursing culture makes it hard to have open discussions about mental health. Emma did not feel she could share anything about her mental illness as she did not trust that her managers would be adequately trained or in a position to appropriately hold what she had to say.
Emma experienced thoughts about ending her life. We talk about how suicidality is a complex and individualized topic that can arise in different people for different reasons.
Emma did not want her kids to have any trauma, and that thought stopped her from acting on suicidal thoughts.
Emma would like to introduce coping mechanisms in nurse training if she were to redesign the support the staff is receiving.
She believes there should be better education about mental health.
After quitting nursing, Emma found EFT an effective tool that made her feel better.
EFT, or the Emotional Freedom Technique, is what Emma helps other people with, teaching them about coping mechanisms.
Today's Guest:
Emma Henry, a former UK nurse, faced challenges with her mental health after experiencing prenatal and postnatal depression following the birth of her first child.
Emma decided to leave nursing. During this time, she encountered two coaches who introduced her to Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). EFT proved to be a highly effective coping tool that was unavailable to her during her struggles as a parent and nurse.
Recognizing the value of EFT in improving her well-being, Emma embarked on a journey to become an EFT Practitioner. Through her newfound profession, she now helps others by teaching them coping mechanisms and providing support using EFT.
Connect with Emma Henry here:
emmahilaryhenry@gmail.com
https://www.instagram.com/emmahenryeft/
https://m.facebook.com/p/Emma-Henry-EFT-Practitioner-100075966822830/
https://twitter.com/EmmahenryEFT
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/emma-henry-257074195
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Join our free Facebook group for wellbeing resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Find our wellbeing services at our website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
Livaware is an innovative nurse-led team that fills the gaps in people's healthcare. They combine clinical excellence, coordination, and empathy to provide an unrivaled experience led by Hemmen Jutla, RN.
In this episode, Nathan Illman talks with Hemmen as he talks about his inspiring journey of breaking away from his traditional nurse role to starting up his own company and becoming an entrepreneur.
Listen and learn in this episode.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
Helping people with personal care and helping people who can not do certain things was incredibly humbling for Hemmen.
Understanding that people have their own lives within that: seeing patients as people, but seeing nurses as people as well, and who have their kind of problems going on and trying to manage that.
It is compelling when a leader says they do not have all the answers and directs us to people where to get the answers or solve the problem together.
Entrepreneurship is not just a business; it is a mindset.
It is where people can come to get ideas and help ideas. Just planting the seed, people will come out with great things.
Listening to your team, understanding their needs, and being aware of them having burnout is what Hemmen does as a leader to ensure their well-being is enhanced.
Having many more nurses taking responsibility for their practice helps people individualize their healthcare, but also individualized profession.
It would be nice to bring an opportunity where people can work privately and use their skills.
Hemmen see stress as something within us for a reason.
Accepting that it will never be perfect and that it is an ongoing process that you will learn next time is important to ground yourself in that with the whole thing's journey.
Today's Guest:
Hemmen Jutla is the founding clinician of Livaware. He graduated as a nurse in 2013, has become a qualified health coach, and has worked in one of the most prestigious hospitals across London. He aims to provide the best care in the best environment for individuals, enhancing their experience on the road to recovery.
Connect with Hemmen Jutla here:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/hemmen-jutla-45489029
https://www.instagram.com/hjutla/
Want to start your journey to better healthcare? Go to:
https://www.livaware.co.uk/
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
Join our free Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Liam Caswell Coaching created a nurse career and life coaching service where they helped nurses navigate the life and career struggles that they face day to day and help them see that they have so many options.
In this episode, Nathan Illman sits down with Liam Caswell as he shares his own experiences of adversity and challenges he has overcome that influenced his career and desires to help other nurses as well.
Listen and learn in this episode.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
There is such a gap in the support, guidance, mentorship, and coaching for nurses globally that it is preventable.
PNA program: Professional Nurse Advocate program is all about therapeutic clinical supervision. Nurses in leadership positions are being trained to provide care to other nurses; that is a space for reflection.
The gap lies for nurses when they are trained to be clinicians and do cardio, CPR, and all of the things but are not trained in humaneness. They are not trained in the human side of health care and how to face adversity, like in constant fight or flight.
Shame is an emotion we all experience, which shows up with things like imposter syndrome and comparing ourselves to others when we do not feel like we are doing a good enough job.
Many people think that as a leader, educator, and senior, being emotionally vulnerable will trip you up, or people will assume that you are not strong, which is the opposite of being true.
The biggest challenge that people see now is that nursing is not a long-term career because of how it is set up.
It is the individual's experience, their belief about themselves, and their perceived fear or worries about what will happen that Liam and his team try to tackle in their program and help them see that they have all the options and all the choices.
Today's Guest:
Liam Caswell is a senior healthcare leader who seeks to draw upon his international nursing and healthcare experience to guide nurses to achieve work/life balance while maintaining their values and integrity. They help nurses and midwives across their careers land their next role with ease, support, and confidence!
Connect with Liam Caswell here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-grant-caswell/
https://www.facebook.com/highperformancenursing/
https://www.instagram.com/highperformancenursing/
https://www.youtube.com/@highperformancenursing/
Want to start with Liam Caswell Coaching? Go to:
https://www.liamcaswell.com/
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
Join our free Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
In this episode, Nathan talks about sleep again: part three of his mini-series about sleep difficulties, problems, and insomnia and how to improve those for nurses and midwives.
In the previous episodes, Nathan provided an overview of effective evidence-based ways to optimize sleep and overcome sleep problems. Today's episode focused on shift work sleep disorder and the issues it creates for nurses and midwives.
Here is a summary of key points from the episode:
- Shift work is when someone works outside of traditional working hours in Western society. As we all know, many nurses and midwives are also required to do this shift work as part of their roles.
- Essentially our circadian rhythm—that biological clock that our bodies follow, and all of the cells in our body, follow this rhythm that is triggered by the rising of the sun and exposure to light through our eyes, and then darkness.
- When you are working a night shift, you are essentially fighting against the body's natural desire to sleep at night.
- Circadian misalignment is when your body gets used to a natural thing on the day shifts. An unnatural something on the night shift, and then keeps switching back and forth.
- One of the other big problems with working the night shift is it disrupts your social life.
- Shift work sleep disorder is characterized by insomnia problems: difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, difficulties with impaired concentration, and sleepiness when the person is awake.
Nathan shares several strategies and techniques for overcoming these difficulties and helping optimize sleep for people rotating shifts.
- A helpful place to start is talking about the differences between those who work rotating shifts and people who are on permanent changes and what we know from the research about the differences between those.
- Start by considering the day of your first night shift; then, it is essential to sleep in as long as possible before that first night shift. Then in the afternoon, it will be excellent if you can take a nap as well.
- Having the opportunity to take a nap while on a shift is helpful, and then not drinking caffeine later into your shift, indeed not napping later into your shift.
- When you leave work, avoid light exposure. The light exposure will trigger all of those mechanisms in your brain and body that will keep you awake.
- Having a dark, quiet, cool room in your home is super important.
- We know that alcohol is not helpful for sleep. Alcohol, as are caffeine and other stimulants, is something to avoid right before you go to sleep.
- The strategy to use after the final night shift
- You want to sleep a little bit, to begin with. Sleep between 90 minutes and a couple of hours, and set yourself an alarm to wake up.
- In the afternoon, avoid caffeine and anything that will affect your sleep later that night. Try to stay awake as close as possible to what your regular bedtime would be.
People might put a lot of pressure on themselves to sleep and fall asleep during the day. This psychological pressure we put on ourselves can create a lot of stress and lead to that arousal, making sleep very difficult. So remind yourself that getting rest is essential, and if you are struggling with sleeping, seeking help is really important.
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
Join our free Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
In this episode, Nathan talks about sleep difficulties, problems, and insomnia and how to improve those for nurses and midwives.
In the previous episode, Nathan talked about some general tips and tools for improving sleep. Today’s episode focused on people struggling with sleep; this episode is part two of a series about sleep tips.
Here is a summary of key points from the episode:
- Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder; it is a problem in initiating sleep in the first place or a problem with waking at night.
- Insomnia causes functional impairment where your sleeplessness or your perceived sleeplessness bothers you.
- Sleep difficulties likely started from stress and worrying about something.
- The leading cause of insomnia for people is stress in the short term. Irregular sleep-work-wake cycles also lead to insomnia.
- It is the things that we are doing unintentionally that are maintaining the problem.
- Sleep is a natural behavior. The problem is that we focus on sleep as something to be controlled, and the unintentional consequence is that it creates more anxiety.
Nathan shares several tips to improve sleep and break the cycle of insomnia.
- As you notice worries coming into your mind, acknowledge them as worries. Give your fears a name and change your attitude towards the concern. Try and disengage from thinking about how insufficient your sleep was and how it will affect the rest of your day.
- The other one is questioning the validity of your thoughts. Examining what your mind is saying as you go about the rest of your day is essential.
- Try and put yourself in the shoes of someone who is a good sleeper and apply that to your thinking.
- You have to start abandoning what you are doing to try and control sleep.
- Try to reduce the extent to which you’re obsessively monitoring yourself internally. People with insomnia tend to focus negatively on their internal sensations.
- Sleep window- Set your bedtime and waketime and stick to it. Get out of bed when your alarm goes off, even if you feel you have not slept well.
- Stimulus Control- Even going to bed creates that sense of worry and anxiety. You have to start retraining that association with the bed as somewhere calming and where you can fall asleep.
- Have a balance between having healthy sleep habits and what we call sleep hygiene and then using sleep hygiene-type behaviors to try and make ourselves sleep.
- Managing insomnia is emotions. Allow those sensations and emotions to be present, and open yourself up to them. Focus on breathing- breathing into your nose and out through your mouth.
Sleep has a massive impact on our physical and mental health. Share this episode with your colleagues and have more conversations about sleep. This way, we can help more people get adequate rest and improve their well-being.
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
Join our free Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
In this episode, Nathan talks about the importance of sleep for wellbeing and shares some insights into some of his favourite tips to get better sleep.
This episode is part of a series that will cover general sleep tips (today’s episode); ways to tackle insomnia; and how to improve sleep for night shift workers.
Here is a summary of key points from the episode:
Sleep has been shown to be a significant predictor of both mental and physical health problems.
People who regularly sleep less than 7 hours per night are at risk of health conditions. If you sleep less than 6 hours per night this risk increases dramatically.
Sleep is an evolutionary behaviour that developed over millions of years. In brief, it helps restore the body/mind and repair cells.
Sleep is controlled largely by light from the sun - light and dark cycles trigger processes in the brain that lead to the feelings of sleepiness we experience and our need to sleep/when we sleep.
The two key things needed for sleep are: sleep pressure (tiredness) and low arousal (i.e. not feeling stressed or on ‘high alert’)
Nathan shares several sleep tips for people working regular schedules (i.e. not night shifts):
- Get morning sunlight for around 10-15 mins per day by going for a walk. This helps stop the release of melatonin in the morning and helps with its production later in the day.
- Get daily exercise. Cardio and resistance training both help improve sleep quality. Ideally, combine exercise with outdoor light exposure to get a double whammy effect.
- Bedtime routine - try to go to bed at the same time/wake same time each day. This creates a natural rhythm for your brain to get used to and makes sleep come easier and more efficient.
- Don’t withhold on sleep during the week and think that you can “make up for it” at weekend. Whilst weekend lie ins provide short-term relief, they don’t undo the damage done during the week from mild sleep deprivation. The negative effects will show in the medium to long term.
- Limit screen and phone use before bed and try to avoid having a phone in the bedroom for 30 minutes before bed. Use an alarm clock to wake you and leave your phone outside the bedroom.
- Avoid alcohol before bed. It is a myth that alcohol helps you sleep. Whilst it helps you fall asleep, it becomes a stimulant and wakes you up more in the night, leading to poorer quality sleep, even if you don’t feel like it’s having a negative effect.
- Avoid sugar in the evening, especially right before bed. Sugar interrupts sleep rhythms. Try eating something less sweet or try fruit-based alternatives to the usual candy or chocolate you might have.
There are tons more ways we can improve sleep but these tips are a great starting point for anyone, so pick one and give it a go!
Follow Nathan and Nurse Wellbeing Mission for more practical preventative mental health tools for nurses and midwives:
Website: www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Instagram: @_nursewellbeingmission
Twitter: @NurseWellbeing
Join our free Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Fatigue is a common problem in the workplace. It’s even more common and well-documented in people who work night shifts because of the lack of sleep they experience. It can cause different problems in our body systems that can, later on, affect the quality of our lives.
It’s a good thing that in some workplaces fatigue is monitored among their employees and interventions are being implemented. However, in healthcare, this type of monitoring is not present and there is a lack of training available.
In this episode, Nathan Illman talks to Despina Artenie, a psychologist who has conducted some research looking at ways to improve fatigue in night shift workers. She shares the interventions they implemented in her study, the results, and some useful recommendations for night shift workers.
Listen and learn in this episode.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
Working night shifts can lead to sleep problems, and digestive and metabolic problems, and can affect our overall health.
Our normal circadian rhythm or biological clock is heavily influenced by daylight. This is due to the way we evolved with the Earth's continuous shift in light/dark cycles across 24 hours.
This leads to alertness during the day and sleepiness at night. This is why, as humans, we work during the day and rest and regenerate at night.
During a night shift, the body clock flips. The continuous shifts of schedules cause a circadian misalignment. All the jumping back and forth makes it hard to get good quality sleep.
The most potent way to adapt to the shifts is to control light exposure. This taps into the evolutionary mechanisms in our brains.
The issues with controlling light exposure of shift workers are the fact that the conditions at work are out of their hands and that light exposure is quite time-sensitive.
Below we explain Despina's research study and how she and her colleagues provided artificial evening light to nurses:
Interventions given to nurses in the study:
- Using a lightbox to get 40 minutes of bright light exposure using the lightbox as late as possible before going to work
- Avoiding light in the morning after a shift by wearing sunglasses
- Sleeping in the morning in a dark environment or using an eye mask
Interventions on the active control group:
- Eating a meal before going to work
- Eating low-protein meals when eating at night
Results: The study found that the light exposure intervention did indeed reduce subjectively reported fatigue in the experimental group.
Conclusion: 40 mins of evening light exposure is a safe, acceptable, and effective means of reducing fatigue in shift workers. It can be done at home for a low cost.
Quick recommendations that can help with fatigue or sleep problems:
- Nap in the afternoon between 2 pm to 6 pm.
- Try to get a proper dinner before the shift.
- Have a healthy snack if you’re hungry.
- Have a low-protein breakfast.
- Drink water proactively.
- Try to socialize with your work colleagues to keep yourself alert.
- Try not to drink caffeinated drinks 3 hours before sleeping.
- Mind your sleeping hygiene by blocking external noise and not using your phone before sleeping or with 100% brightness.
Lightbox recommendation: 10,000 lux of wide spectrum light and has a UV filter, use at arm’s length.
Website: https://www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
E-mail Address: nathan@nursewellbeingmission.com
Schwartz Rounds provide a safe space for healthcare staff to share many aspects of their work with others. This results in reflections and realisations that enable staff to be more compassionate towards themselves and others.
In this episode, Nathan Illman sits down with Jill Maben to discuss Schwartz Rounds and her evidence-based research about the effect of these rounds on nurses’ well-being.
Listen and learn in this episode.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
- Making a difference and helping families during their most difficult times is immensely rewarding but it’s not always easy.
- The term Schwartz Rounds was named after a young American lawyer, Kenneth Schwartz who had incurable lung cancer in 1995.
- When medicine can't provide any answers, or has kind of failed, what matters most for patients and families is compassion and empathy.
- Schwartz Rounds help develop more personal knowledge of your emotions and the interpersonal side of the work that you're doing, rather than just the empirical scientific, technical, knowledge that perhaps a nurse might need to have to deliver care.
- What’s unique about nursing work is they are asked to bring and deliver their full selves, emotions, empathy, and compassion all day, every day to every patient.
- Schwartz Rounds are developed to provide a safety net or support mechanism to help people process those emotional, social, and ethical challenges at work.
- The four stages of Schwartz Rounds: Finding the storytellers, preparation of the storytellers, the rounds, and the after-effects.
- It takes time to change culture, but there's a fertile area for conversations to grow and for us to be more compassionate to each other, but also ourselves.
- The Schwartz Rounds touch on many aspects of life and the reflections that happen during these rounds encourage nurses to be more compassionate towards themselves and others.
- Vulnerability builds the bridge to genuine connections.
- In rounds, you allow feelings to come in, and processing them enables different things to grow.
- The more rounds you attend, the more protective it becomes.
- Someone who deeply understands the power of rounds can help spread the word and encourage people to attend them.
- Evidence shows that rounds have more impact on regular attendance.
Today’s Guest:
Jill Maben is a nurse by background and is now a professor of Health Services Research and Nursing at the University of Surrey. She leads a workforce organisation and well-being team. They have several research projects related to nurses’ well-being or healthcare staff’s well-being.
Connect with Jill Maben here:
https://www.surrey.ac.uk/people/jill-maben
https://twitter.com/nursingpolicy
Want to start with Schwartz Rounds? Go to:
https://www.pointofcarefoundation.org.uk/
Website: https://www.nursewellbeingmission.co.uk
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Being in a healthcare team is a tough job and even more when you stand as the leader. You have to be someone your team members can rely on especially during the most difficult times.
It’s not enough to have the courage and strength of a leader. It is most important to keep the compassion that you had since the moment you entered this line of work to keep an open and honest culture for everyone’s well-being.
In this episode, Nathan Illman has a conversation with Jackie Dominick, the head of nursing for a hospital in the UK. They talk about many different topics about leadership. Jackie shares the principles and philosophy that have guided her leadership for years.
Listen and learn in this episode.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
- Leaders need to try to have a different persona at work and check on themselves first to be able to do their work well.
- You must not lose the compassion that you have along the way.
- You can’t lead on the phone. You have to be with people. You have to be visible.
- You have to be strong as a leader and you have to say no to unimportant tasks or demands.
- Your gut instinct takes you a long way. If you can articulate your gut feeling, they will respect your opinion and they will think that you know what you’re talking about.
- Always have an honest relationship with your team members.
- If a team member makes a mistake, take it slow but get them to talk about what led up to that incident, understand it, and make a conclusion.
- If you want an open and honest culture, in healthcare, you have to create an environment where people feel safe to tell you their mistakes.
- Coaching means letting people come to a solution for themselves, say very little, reflect back with them, and come up with a conclusion together.
- If you always tell people what to do, they won’t learn and you are not developing future leaders.
- If you have a team that pulled together and solves problems together, that’s a great team.
- You spend a lot of time at work, enjoy it.
- As long as you’d say it in the right way, you’re compassionate and caring, you can say anything to anybody. Don’t be frightened to tell someone when you’re not happy with what they’re doing.
Today’s Guest:
Jackie Dominick has been a nurse for 30 years and is now the head of nursing for a hospital in the UK.
Website: https://www.nursewellbeingmission.co.uk
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
In today’s episode, I talk to Jasna Schwind, professor of nursing at the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing in Toronto about self-compassion in nurse education. Jasna is an RN and nurse educator who is interested in the humanness of care and ways to enhance nurse student learning via mindfulness and compassion.
If you’re interested in self-compassion, this episode is for you! Nathan even leads a short self-compassion exercise at the end of the episode so keep listening!
In this conversation we cover the following topics:
-Jasna’s background and when she started incorporating mindfulness into her teaching with nursing students.
-Why it’s important to address the psychological needs of nursing students so that they can effectively absorb and use the knowledge they are gaining through formal study.
-What self-compassion is, and how it can be developed.
-How self-compassion can help motivate students, soften and reduce perfectionism, and help them be effective leaders.
-The importance of compassionate care in nursing, and how one’s ability to be self-compassionate affects compassion toward patients.
-Jasna’s take on how and why self-compassion should be integrated into both nursing curricula and also permeated throughout nurse educator leadership.
-A self-compassion exercise led by Nathan that will help listeners get a feel for what it’s like to experience this important method of emotional regulation.
If you’d like to find further self-compassion tools then visit the Nurse Wellbeing Mission youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC80H5IU9un8mX_pLgf2VEWw
You can also join our free Facebook community where you’ll get access to other nurses interested in self-care and self-compassion, and receive great, free resources from us. Join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
To find out more about Jasna’s work then visit her academic profile here: https://www.torontomu.ca/nursing/about/people/faculty/jasna-schwind/
Or her website here: https://theartofexperience.ca/
PTSD can reduce the quality of life for a long time but it is a treatable condition. The earlier it is detected, the better it will be for the person being crippled by it. Furthermore, in a workplace that has a high risk of facing traumatic experiences, taking the steps to prevent PTSD should be a prime concern.
In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Wild tackles the important aspects of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. She shares the work that she’s been doing around the prevention of PTSD and some recommendations to help prevent PTSD and what to do after nurses experience something traumatic and stressful in the workplace.
Listen and learn in this episode.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a crippling stress reaction and it consists of several symptoms. The core symptoms that drive all of the other clusters are the re-experiencing symptoms.
Re-experiencing symptoms are the repetitive, unwanted, intrusive memories of the worst moments of somebody's trauma.
The Avoidant Cluster refers to people trying hard not to think about what happened and avoiding reminders and places that remind them of what happened.
Negative Alterations in Cognition and Mood Cluster refers to the changes in the way we think about ourselves and the world.
Memory symptoms also have a direct impact on the body.
The natural response is a resilience response that can include some of the symptoms of PTSD. A small proportion of people go on to develop persistent PTSD.
The Risk Factors of PTSD:
- Fixed Risk Factors: Being a woman and having a history of mental health problems
- Modifiable Risk Factor: Dwelling on the past
Once you can recognize that you are dwelling, the best thing to do is to get out of your head and shift your attention from your thinking to the outside world.
When the feeling of guilt lingers, one should shift the focus from what they didn't do to what they did do that was helpful.
Sleep is very important for emotional memory consolidation and in enabling us to access parts of our memories that can help dampen down the trauma response.
In the immediate aftermath of trauma, kindness goes a long way.
Social support is one of the predictors of recovery.
Early detection and intervention can play a very important role in improving the quality of life of people with PTSD.
Today’s Guest:
Dr. Jennifer Wild is an Associate Professor at the University of Oxford and a Professor of Military Mental Health at the University of Melbourne. She has a program of research that focuses on preventing PTSD for high-risk occupations.
Nurse Wellbeing Mission run online and in-person workshops for nurses and midwives where we train people in four key skill sets of self-forgiveness. This helps to overcome mistakes, setbacks, and moral distress. Drop us an email to find out more: nathan@nursewellbeingmission.com
Visit our website at: https://www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Join our free Facebook group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
It is normal for people to make mistakes and it is also completely normal to feel guilty about it. However, dwelling on the past and excessively thinking about the future effects of what we did wrong will oftentimes make it worse.
It will greatly affect our practice, our overall health, and our relationships.
So, practicing self-forgiveness and self-compassion can provide relief, growth and empower nurses and midwives to move forward with their lives.
In this episode, Nathan Ilman talks about his journey to self-forgiveness and how we can start our journey toward it.
He provides a practical foundation for nurses and midwives in how to start thinking about and practicing self-forgiveness to enhance their wellbeing.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
Many people have had an experience of doing something that they feel guilty about or even shame.
Self-forgiveness is something that we can learn about and a choice we can make to be kind to ourselves.
Whilst guilt can help drive positive behaviour, getting stuck in shame often does not, and becomes problematic.
Research literature shows that people who find it easier to forgive themselves tend to have better psychological and physical well-being.
On the other hand, people who find it hard to forgive themselves tend to experience high rates of mental ill health.
Genuine self-forgiveness involves a number of different steps. One is acknowledging our responsibility for the mistakes that have been made.
Ask yourself this question: By continuing to focus on what you did wrong, what effect is it having on your practice? Is it enabling you to be an effective nurse or midwife? Is it affecting your family life?
Letting go is a choice we can make and it is very empowering.
Set the intention to forgive yourself.
Self-forgiveness is a process. We can start again each day if we choose to.
When we give ourselves permission to forgive ourselves, it can open us to a range of possibilities.
Overthinking and being locked into the past keeps people trapped in a lack of self-forgiveness.
Do these three things to start your journey on self-forgiveness:
-
Acknowledge the thing that you’ve been hard on yourself about.
-
Make a verbal or written commitment that you’re going to start forgiving yourself.
-
Try out a self-forgiving pause.
Nurse Wellbeing Mission run online and in-person workshops for nurses and midwives where we train people in four key skill sets of self-forgiveness. This helps to overcome mistakes, set backs and moral distress. Drop us an email to find out more: nathan@nursewellbeingmission.com
Visit our website at: https://www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Join our free Facebook group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Interested to know more about stress management programs for student nurses? Then you're in the right place.
We talk to Becky Petley in this episode. Becky is finishing her Ph.D. at Winchester University in the UK and was investigating what aspects of wellbeing programs for student nurses actually work.
In this conversation we cover:
- Why it’s important to understand what elements of wellbeing programs are effective and not just whether the whole package ‘worked’.
- The moral imperative of organisations to implement culture change to support student nurses.
- How a flexible, and not a one-size fits all approach is needed to address student nurse stress.
- The context of attrition of student nurses – many (up to 33%!) drop out early from training. We discuss the obligation of organisations to address this.
- Some reasons why student nurses drop out.
- We discuss Becky’s review article and why she looked at stress specifically in student nurses.
- How stress interventions vary a lot. Becky talks us through the types that were most effective, such as those that involve training coping skills and ways of thinking about stress differently.
- Why future work needs to address coping but also helping reduce the actual things that are making students stressed (e.g. high placement demands and academic work, financial pressures)
- How expectations around professional identity clash with student nurses’ personal identity, sometimes leading to deteriorating wellbeing.
- Becky shares her advice for new nurses – to practice self-compassion and be kind to yourself.
Find her article here: “The effectiveness of interventions and behaviour change techniques to reduce stress in student nurses: A systematic review”.
To find out more about Nurse Wellbeing Mission, visit our website: https://www.nursewellbeingmission.com
To join our community of 250+ nurses and midwives and receive weekly wellbeing resources, join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
E-mail us: nathan@nursewellbeingmission.com
There are times when we already know that we should seek help because of the changes that we are noticing in the way we deal with things in our life. The problem is that many barriers stop us from taking action and make us think twice about getting help. However, thinking about the long-term benefits of seeking help now will help us change our mindsets and start to overcome these barriers.
In this episode, Nathan Illman talks about why you may want to access psychological therapy and when might be a good time to do it. He also discusses the barriers to seeking out help, how to overcome them, and some of the practicalities of attending therapy.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
- Even if we’re emotionally intelligent, self-aware, and have good support, sometimes we still need the support of someone outside our support network to help us work through life's challenges.
- An important exercise to know whether or not to seek help is to think about the time when you were functioning at your best and compare it to where you are now.
- You are not alone in what you feel and there is no shame in getting support from someone else.
- Someday when you get older, you'll look back on your life now and think about what could've happened if you sought out help.
- You don't necessarily need to let certain people know that you are seeking help. Only share it with people who will surely understand and be supportive.
- We tend to prioritize other people's needs but we have to shift to this mindset of helping ourselves and thinking about how psychological therapy would help us long-term.
- The time that therapy will cost you now will pay dividends in the future.
- Explore and know where to access support.
- It's okay to ask and understand the qualifications of experts to see if they are the right fit for you and your particular situation.
- Public services have limitations. It is important to think about making room and investing your money in your mental health.
- The first therapist that you see may not be the right person for you and it's alright. You don’t need to completely give up on accessing mental health services. You may give it another go or find the right person for you.
- Spend a little time looking at your options for the kind of therapy that might best suit you.
To find out more about Nurse Wellbeing Mission, visit our website: https://www.nursewellbeingmission.com
To join our. community of 250+ nurses and midwives and receive weekly wellbeing resources, join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
E-mail us: nathan@nursewellbeingmission.com
Tiffany Hood is an Associate Professor of nursing at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. She has a highly varied nursing background and in the latter stages of her career has focused more on research. In this episode we talk about her research examining student nurses’ responses to critical incidents at work, to better understand their psychological reactions and help guide more effective preparation and post-event support.
We discuss:
- The kinds of critical incidents student nurses may be exposed to at work (e.g. death, violence, severe injury and disability).
- How there is currently a lack of adequate preparation for student nurses to inform them of the realities of what they may witness.
- How many student nurses enter training with unrealistic expectations about critical events due to popular culture such as what is seen on TV or movies.
- Why providing student nurses with a space to reflect on a stressful or critical event is absolutely crucial.
- Why it’s important to factor in a student nurses’ life experience, such as prior trauma and mental health difficulties, when preparing them for rotations and clinical work.
- How student nurses’ reactions to critical incidents were completely varied, and why it should be stressed to other students that this is completely normal.
- Why staff and faculty should aim to build a trusting relationship with students, and how this benefits psychological coping in the event of a critical incident.
- Why it’s important to consider a number of processes and factors in understanding student nurses’ experiences and later adjustment or not, to a critical event.
- Some tools and strategies for helping better prepare student nurses, which Tiffany currently working on.
You can find the article we discussed here: “Student Nurses' Experiences of Critical Events in the Clinical Setting: A Grounded Theory”
Our website:
www.nursewellbeingmission.com
If you’re a nurse or midwife interested in further resources and conversations from us, join our Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Professional quality of life greatly affects the overall well-being and work performance of healthcare workers. It is important to address the factors that negatively affect this and form habits through brief interventions.
In this episode, Darcy Copeland, a Professor of Nursing and Nurse Scientist, talks about the study she conducted on brief workplace interventions to address burnout, compassion fatigue, and teamwork in nurses.
Listen and learn in this episode.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
- The more burnout providers have the worse their teamwork is, the better their teamwork is, and the less burnout they have.
- The particular model of professional quality of life differentiates the quality of life on two things: compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue.
- Secondary traumatic stress is the emotional burden of repeatedly being in contact with humans who are suffering.
- Burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress are work-related injuries and if we think about them as work-related, we'll determine who can help prevent them.
Brief Interventions Darcy explored to address burnouts and compassion fatigue:
Each of these were conducted with nurses for only 10 minutes per day over a number of weeks. Nurses were given one activity to do:
- Journaling
Journal Prompts:
-How would a patient, visitor, or colleague describe a particular situation?
-The best thing that happened today.
-What would I have done differently if I could...
-This situation was unexpected and what I did.
-The situation that touched me the most today.
-Would you believe this happened?
-The way I got through this.
- Meditation
Meditation using a phone-based app.
- Spending time outdoors
Spend time outside without cellphones or pagers to just observe nature.
- Practicing Gratitude
Thank and recognize at least three people every day.
Results of the study:
Darcy found in this pilot study encouraging evidence that indeed, only 10 minutes per day of self-care was effective in enhancing nurses' wellbeing. When nurses were given an opportunity and encouragement to ring-fence 10 mins of shift time for self-care, highly positive feedback was received.
The conclusion - nurse managers out there should look to make this time available and actively encourage staff to choose an activity each day.
Today’s Guest:
Darcy Copeland is a Nursing Professor at The University of Northern Colorado and a Nurse Scientist.
The Study:
Brief Workplace Interventions Addressing Burnout, Compassion Fatigue, and Teamwork
Find more about Darcy Copeland here:
https://www.unco.edu/nhs/nursing/about-us/faculty/copeland-darcy.aspx
Our Website: https://www.nursewellbeingmission.co.uk
Join our Facebook Group for more wellbeing resources and find out about our events: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
In today’s episode, I talk with Professor Narinder Kapur, visiting professor of neuropsychology at UCL in London.
Narinder is not a nurse, but has done incredible work to support nurses after his own harrowing experience of unfair dismissal within healthcare.
Narinder suffered an extremely stressful unfair dismissal earlier in his career and fought for justice as a result.
His plight, inspired by Gandhian principles, led him to uncover structural issues with racism, unfairness, and inequality when addressing disciplinary procedures and investigations of whistleblowing in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
In this episode, Narinder talks candidly about his own experience and how that led him to support other healthcare staff, including nurses, who subsequently went through similar things.
He talks in-depth about nurse Amin Abdullah, a nurse who died of suicide following the shame he experienced as a result of what turned out to be unfair treatment and dismissal by his employer.
In this moving conversation, Narinder outlines:
Current issues with bias and racism in healthcare
Shortcomings of disciplinary procedures
Problems with managerial structures in the NHS and how to change them
The key features of his roadmap to create a fairer system to support whistleblowers and those who are undergoing investigation.
The issues surrounding the case of Amin Abdullah, and what he and Amin’s partner did to campaign for change
What the key learning and lessons are from Amin’s suicide, and how to prevent further ones in the future.
His advice for people going through disciplinary procedures: Get independent advice and do what you can to take care of your own wellbeing.
To find out more about Narinder’s work and the recommendations he makes, see:
https://www.abetternhs.com/
A moving video explaining more about the case of Amin Abdullah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0_f2KtK914&t=433s&ab_channel=NarinderKapur
RCN Foundation and link to the Amin Abdullah Award: https://rcnfoundation.rcn.org.uk/
Our website:
www.nursewellbeingmission.com
If you’re a nurse or midwife interested in further resources and conversations from us, join our Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Nurses and midwives have a huge responsibility of taking care of different kinds of patients. A number of factors specific to nursing and midwifery lead to increased stress, which can negatively impact wellbeing. Much is known about preventative measures that can reduce the unnecessary burden of stress.
In this solo episode the Nurse Wellbeing Mission podcast, Nathan Illman talks all about what preventive mental health is and what it looks like.
It also talks about the problems and barriers that are inherent in the nursing profession and the things that contribute to someone flourishing at work and having an optimized sense of well-being.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
- Mental health is something that we all have. It's not just something someone with a mental health problem has.
- One definition of well-being is when someone is "contented, comfortable, and happy."
- When we think about preventative mental health, we think of the factors and conditions that might make someone at risk of developing mental health conditions and intervene with them before the person struggles with mental health difficulties.
- Several occupational factors lead the nursing work to have increased stress and increased stress most likely leads to burnout and other psychological difficulties.
- Removing or reducing occupational hazards is important. People need to go to work feeling that they're safe.
- Supervisory or management relationships that are founded on trust, compassion, and respect are crucial.
- A clear job description is important, but an opportunity for employees to express themselves and to be more flexible with their roles contributes to job satisfaction and well-being.
- Understanding the role of compassion, self-compassion, and emotional intelligence for nurses will help you flourish in your work and prevent the deterioration in mental health.
- There's a psychological role of being compensated financially as well.
- Having enough time and resources to do the job is also extremely important.
- Social support is one of the biggest protective factors of people's mental health and well-being.
- Culture is the underlying principles and beliefs that guide behavior and actions within a team, a department, or an organization.
- Well-being strategy is not about a single band-aid approach, it is about taking a broad look at the particular healthcare system, the organization, or the community and thinking about the particular needs of those individuals and ways their well-being can be supported over a long period.
- Early intervention helps prevent more serious issues.
The Factors to Consider in Preventative Mental Health:
-Nurses and midwifes self-identifying their own vulnerabilities before they start or during their training
-Proper funding for healthcare at the government level
-Building the right culture in the organization
-Having enough staff and resources in the workplace
-Meeting the employees’ basic needs
-Having the right conditions and environment
-Having social support
-Lifestyle interventions contributing to health (sleep, exercise, diet)
-Taking personal responsibility to enhance wellbeing in one's personal life
VISIT OUR WEBSITE OR JOIN THE NURSE WELLBEING MISSION FACEBOOK GROUP FOR EXCLUSIVE WELLBEING RESOURCES:
Website: https://www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission
Welcome to the introduction to the Nurse Wellbeing Mission podcast! In this introductory episode, your host, Dr. Nathan lllman (Clinical Psychologist), discusses his professional journey with supporting nurses and other healthcare staff and how his personal experiences led him to commit to helping the nursing and midwifery workforce.
The podcast is designed to support the well-being of nurses and midwives through:
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Conversations with industry leaders and researchers who specialize in nurse/midwife wellbeing.
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Practical, how-to episodes from Nathan, covering a range of mental health and wellbeing topics.
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Inspiring stories from nurses and midwives about their own personal wellbeing challenges and journeys.
If you’re a nurse or midwife interested in joining our Nurse Wellbeing Mission community, head over to our website and Facebook group:
Website: https://www.nursewellbeingmission.com
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission