Practicing Self-Care for Nurses: A Nursing Program Initiative.

Abstract

Self-care is imperative to personal health, sustenance to continue to care for others, and professional growth. This article briefly reviews stressors common to students and nurses and the importance of practicing self-care to combat stress and promote health in practice. Florida Atlantic University offers a course for all levels of undergraduate nursing students called Caring for Self. The course, supported by principles of Adult Learning Theory, focuses on guiding the nurse to practice and model self-care. The author describes the evolution of this self-care initiative by discussing the needs assessment, course description and strategies, examples of course activities, and an exemplar of student impact. The conclusion offers discussion of challenges and lessons noted by faculty and students.