In response to: Self-compassion in practice

Dear Dr. Gelinas:

I appreciate that the article Self-Compassion in practice by Erin Lundeen and Connie Perkins speaks to the need for self-care and self-awareness in the nursing profession (2024). Self-care is vital for nurses to be able to provide compassionate care to their patients each shift. Lack of self-care can lead to emotional exhaustion, which is one of the main factors in nursing burnout (Parola, 2022). As a floor nurse, I see first-hand the effect of emotional exhaustion. I often see nurses working three twelve-hour shifts in a row. This leaves little to no time for emotional decompression or self-care activities. I believe that if nurses made an effort to participate in a self-care activity once a day, they would feel less emotionally exhausted.

Self-care and awareness should be used by nurses both at home and at work. Lundeen and Perkins mention two self-compassion exercises performed by a staff nurse during their shift, which helped them to refocus on patient care (2024). Providing nurses with the tools to recognize when they are overwhelmed and how to fix it could contribute to better patient-focused care.

While physical health is important, phycological health plays a large role in dealing with the emotional demands of the nursing profession (Parola, 2022). Nurses need to care for themselves so they can provide effective, compassionate care to patients each shift.

Respectfully,
Hannah Caughey, BSN, RN
Massillon, OH

Reference

Parola, V., Coelho, A., Neves, H., Bernardes, R. A., Sousa, J. P., & Catela, N. (2022). Burnout and nursing care: A concept paper. Nursing Reports, 12(3), 464–471. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep12030044