Nursing is many things — it is a fulfilling profession where you can care for people in need, prevent the spread of diseases, and promote health and safety in communities. However, because of the many responsibilities associated with the role, it can also be very stressful.  

In the course of fulfilling their duties as healthcare professionals, nurses experience various physically demanding and emotionally challenging tasks that can, in time, negatively impact their overall wellness. The COVID-19 pandemic showed the world just how complex and difficult the nursing profession is, and how gargantuan its impact is on nurses’ personal, social, and professional lives. It is therefore integral for nurses, the healthcare professionals tasked with providing compassionate care daily, to be given the resources and support to care for themselves as well.

This article offers tips for enhancing nurses’ health and wellness, which can improve well-being, morale, and patient outcomes.

Wellness at the forefront: Ideas for workplace support for nurses

Establish a points-based wellness program

Healthcare facilities can establish points-based wellness programs that can encourage nurses to adopt healthy and sustainable habits. Create a program that’s voluntary, inclusive, and flexible for all employees. It’s a good idea to avoid including certain activities in the wellness program to keep it as inclusive and flexible as possible, such as diet-based activities to avoid triggering people dealing with eating disorders or step-based goals that tend to disadvantage individuals with disabilities.

Some good activities to include in your points-based wellness program that can have corresponding points for each are as follows:

• Getting flu shots
• Getting an annual physical exam
• Getting an annual women’s health exam
• Taking regular mindfulness breaks
• Getting a massage
• Talking to a mental health professional

The prizes for accumulated points can further improve employee wellness, such as gift cards to health groceries or spas, fitness gear, paid time off, and even vacation packages.

Create monthly wellness-themed activities
Healthcare facilities can create a year’s worth of wellness-themed activities to encourage and inspire employees to take charge of their health in and out of the workplace. For example, “Dry January,” “Heart Health February,” “Try A New Healthy Meal March,” and “Random Acts of Kindness November.”

Provide employees with a monthly or annual wellness budget
To account for the wide variety of employees’ different health and wellness-related interests, healthcare facilities can encourage healthcare professionals to take charge of their health by providing monthly or annual wellness budgets. For example, a $200 monthly wellness budget can be used to pay for an employee’s gym membership, a spa day, co-pay for medical or mental health appointments, health supplements, or healthy meal delivery. The budget can also be used to get wellness app subscriptions or purchase a smart watch or other health-related devices.

Send out weekly fun and informational wellness emails to employees

Sometimes, all it takes to encourage people to live more mindful and healthy lives is to inform them about how to do it, one small activity at a time. It’s a good idea to send out short, fun, and informational wellness emails to employees that encompass a variety of health topics, such as:

•   Proper posture and ergonomics
•   How to prevent the spread of measles at home and in the workplace
•   Tips on preventing skin cancer

Proactively address causes of burnout

Aside from providing great compensation and benefits, one of the best things that healthcare facilities can do to ensure that nurses are physically and mentally well is to ensure that nurses are working on sufficiently staffed floors. Nurse burnout is often attributed to staffing shortages and increased workloads, which healthcare facilities need to address effectively and efficiently.

At Meda Health, healthcare facilities get access to highly qualified, experienced, and caring nurses who can join their teams with minimal orientation and no training necessary. With Meda Health, facilities can prioritize proper staffing ratios, improve employee satisfaction, and experience optimal patient outcomes.

Explore our staffing solutions here.