Healthy Nurse Essay

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The Healthy Lifestyle of the RN Health care students quickly forget, as they transition into the role of an RN, that varying work schedules, long hours, and split shifts start to create an unhealthy balance for the working nurse. Eating schedules are off and daily exercise is forgotten. Mental health is at risk for being compromised from an increased level of stress, anxiety and concern about patients’ conditions, which does not include the extra mental clutter from their personal lives. Quickly, the RN loses focus on a healthy balance coupled with the everyday workload. Have you ever heard of people talking about nurses falling apart? This is a prime example of how a nurse starts to unravel. At some point in a nurse’s career, the disintegration of one or more of the three main life style components, diet, exercise, or mental impacts his or her health. The American Nurses Association (ANA) defines a healthy nurse as one who “actively focuses on creating and maintaining a balance and synergy of physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, personal and professional wellbeing. A healthy nurse lives life to the fullest capacity, across the wellness/illness continuum, as they become stronger role models, advocates, and educators, personally, for their families, their communities and work environments, and ultimately for their patients” (S. Letvak). The way you currently perceive a nurse and their lifestyle may soon change your perspective after …show more content…

While the health of nurses is important to nurses themselves, it is also important for quality of care. A recent study of hospital employed nurses found that nurses who work with pain and/or depression report more medication errors and patient falls and a lower quality of care provided (C. Spencer). Clearly, the health of nurses can no longer be

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