As a nurse leader, it is easy to be overlooked as being a part of the nursing team. However, nurse leaders and administrators are responsible for establishing the culture within an organization. To do this successfully, nurse leaders must be grounded in their principles, and nursing theories help to provide guidance. One of the responsibilities as a nurse leader is to ensure that the nursing staff are providing quality care to all patients. To do that effectively, nurse leaders must see that nursing staff first take care of themselves. Organizational leadership must help provide resources to support and maintain the nursing staff’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being (Gunawan et al., 2022).
Jean Watson’s Theory of Caring best supports this initiative. By using Watson’s theory nurse leaders can create healthy environments, promote self-expression and feelings, and support differing views of employees (Gunawan et al., 2022). Each of Watson’s 10 Caritas processes can be translated into practice for the nurse leader or administrator. In my current role as an educator of the unit, I am a part of the leadership team along with the nurse managers. We are responsible for establishing our own unit culture. The hospital addresses the well-being of staff in many ways, through activities, employee assistance programs, and appreciation days. To help mitigate stress levels in staff, the organization’s music therapy department introduced mindfulness Wednesday where guided meditation is offered to everyone for 30 minutes at noon. I encourage staff to join when they are having stressful shifts. Other things that the organization offers include tea carts, therapy dogs, exercise and fitness classes, and sometimes special events during certain times of the year. At the unit level, I plan monthly activities that help to build morale, these activities can be on or off the unit. We have created a safe space in the break room with a massage chair, diffuser, and privacy screen for staff to take brief timeouts from the stress of the shift. I also developed a morale committee to help create ideas to increase unit morale and alleviate some of the daily stress that our bedside nursing staff face. As a nurse administrator, the importance of the health and wellness of staff will remain a priority that will require creative and innovative interventions to address the stress that comes with the nursing profession.
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