Last year I had the privilege of attending a meeting where one of the hospital systems with which our BC nursing program has a clinical affiliation agreement was reviewing their nursing program goals and outcomes. During that meeting, the Chief Nursing Officer said that the most important characteristic the nursing department is looking for when hiring new nurses is resilience.
It was profound to me that the Chief Nursing Officer identified this characteristic of resilience as the most important for nurses entering her workforce. But, I completely understand it. Nurses who demonstrate resilience experience fewer symptoms of burnout and are more positive and more engaged. Engaged nurse stay where they are and turnover rates drop. Lower turnover is not only good for the organization, it’s good for the patients. When nurses demonstrate resilience, patients have better outcomes.
I used to think of resilience as the ability to let things bounce off of a person, or the ability to bounce back after a setback or stressful event. And while this bouncing may be a part of it, there’s more to resilience than that. What is resilience? An organization called The HeartMath Institute says that resilience is a person’s ability to adapt to stressful or traumatic situations and grow stronger because of that adaptation.
What’s great about resilience is that just like study skills, writing skills, and test-taking skills, resilience can be learned.
Resilience doesn’t come from just being tough or refusing to let anything get to us, it comes from practicing some specific actions, especially during times of stress. Sarah Delgado, Clinical Practice Specialist for the American Association of Critical Care Nurses advises these actions:
Maintain your physical health – get rest, eat right, stay hydrated.
Ask for help when you need it – talk to a friend, tell someone when you need support, use the resources available to your through Broward College.
Take breaks – take a break from studying, take your breaks at work, and take mental breaks by concentrating on breathing several times a day.
Be compassionate to yourself – show yourself the same kindness you show to friends and family. Give yourself some grace, especially during times of increased stress.
Acknowledge how far you’ve come – even when things are going the way you want, you’ve accomplished a lot and should be proud.
I have had so many emails from nursing students that tell me the positive ways you’ve been handling this current challenge. Getting more sleep because you’re not up early to get to campus, getting outside to exercise more, adopting or fostering pets, volunteering and helping out those in need, and just focusing on the positive and the things you can control during this unbelievably challenging time.
You’re building resilience, you’re doing great, and I’m proud of all of you.