What do you need?
Cathy Alvarez, MA, BS, RN, HNB-BC, PCCN
A Rapid Response Approach
to Nurse Well-Being
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic many organizations have stressed the importance of addressing systems and policies that cause stress and burnout to support the health and well-being of nurses. However, more than two years into this pandemic, strong evidence continues to show many nurses are experiencing symptoms of moral distress and moral injury and burnout. Nurses continue to face heavy workloads, supply chain issues, and are now watching many colleagues retire or leave the profession all together.
To mitigate symptoms of distress and develop healthy responses to cope with factors beyond our immediate control, nurses can integrate supportive practices into everyday routines where it matters most. We recognize the systems level changes will take time and nurses need accessible support immediately.
So what can nurses and organizations do to support well-being amidst the chaos? Incorporating simple and time-sensitive self-care assessments and micro-restorative practices into the workflow is a start.
Our Replenish at Work framework inspires and motivates nurses to care for themselves with accessible tools and self-directed restorative care. Foundational to our program is the belief - how we take care of ourselves profoundly impacts the care environment; how we care for our patients, how we work with our peers, and how we engage within our organization.
Our experiences as clinical nurses, educators and coaches has led us to form processes designed to meet caregivers where they are in-the-moment and offer micro-restorative skills to recognize self-identified needs.
A NEED Assessment acts like a Rapid Response and can easily be embedded into the workday
A brief NEED quickly assesses mind, body, and heart and helps YOU determine the direction and level of response needed to optimally support your health and well-being. A moment to get out of default or survival mode and into a space of heightened awareness and coherence.
NEED: Notice Evaluate Execute Debrief
You can begin by taking a few breaths to get present and notice (N) how you are feeling.
Once you are present, bring your attention to what you need by doing a quick evaluation (E) or “pulse check.” How are you feeling on a physical and emotional level? What do you need to care for yourself? Asking these simple questions provides a rapid assessment of your current state. You can intermittently ask yourself these questions as you move through the day. It may seem awkward at first, but the more you bring repetition to it, the more it will become a habitual part of your day.
Once you have identified your biggest need – you can execute (E) a plan and engage in short, personalized micro-restorative practices that can be integrated into the workday to regulate a stressful situation or provide a moment of respite.
Later when you have more time you can debrief (D). We know that when we are in a state of overwhelm or high stress, we are not in a place to access the part of our brain that can take in new information or learn a skill. We need to meet our basic needs first. When we have more time to reflect and debrief, we can practice skills and build muscle memory so the practice of noticing a need and tending to it becomes second nature.
Take a moment to pause right now and reflect on your current state.
You may want to close your eyes and place a hand on your heart. Allow yourself space to look within and contemplate….
How are you feeling in this moment?
What do you need to restore?
It could be something as simple as drinking a glass of water or slowing down your heart rate by resting in a few deeper breaths. Whatever you NEED, give yourself permission to engage and restore.
It takes many small moments, but they will add up and the ripple effects will benefit you, your loved ones, and your patients.
A brief NEED quickly assesses mind, body, and heart and helps YOU determine the direction and level of response needed to optimally support your health and well-being. A moment to get out of default or survival mode and into a space of heightened awareness and coherence.