Nurses Have To Take Care Of Themselves Too

Stress is a tough reality for nurses and nursing students. Serving as a reminder that nursing can be rewarding and difficult, a recent article on Nurse.com, “War On The Mind, Part 1: Nurses Deployed To Iraq And Afghanistan Struggle With PTSD” (link: http://news.nurse.com/article/20101004/NATIONAL02/109270040/-1/frontpage) discusses the affects of stress on U.S. nurses during and after war.

Stanbridge College Assistant Director of Nursing Kim Martin says stress is a reality that nurses must face every day. She says about the Vocational Nursing Program at Stanbridge College: “We discuss the challenges nurse’s face on the job. Deployment is certainly an extreme of stress, but ICU and ER nurses face similar stress on a regular basis.”

Martin said nursing students face stress while in school and that right away, Stanbridge College staff has students factor in all facets of their lives on a daily basis. She says students have to figure out what can be deleted and what has to remain in their daily lives, such as work, school, study, children, family, spouses and friends.

“They learn how to prioritize what is most important. Learning to delegate chores, cooking, laundry, etc. are huge helps,” Martin said. She adds that students must take care of themselves, including eating fruits and vegetables and no white flour or sugar, taking 10,000 steps a day and getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep. She also said there should be no alcohol, caffeine or tobacco, as drinking and smoking less can reduce stress in a student’s life.