A troubling and continuing trend in the health status of healthcare professionals is the irony that they take good care of others while failing to focus on their own health and well-being. While it’s difficult for most people to stay in shape both physically and mentally, research shows that healthier healthcare professionals tend to provide better care and their patients achieve better health outcomes.
It is crucial that healthcare professionals pay attention to their physical, mental and emotional, social and spiritual lives. They may be particularly vulnerable to fatigue, stress, difficulty concentrating, making decisions, and solving daily problems, decreased energy and burnout.
3 Ways to Improve Health and Well-Being
Become More Emotionally Intelligent
According to American psychologist Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence involves the capacity to be aware of, control and express one’s emotions and to handle interpersonal relationships. It also focuses on the ability to manage the emotions of other people. This is an incredibly important skill for healthcare professionals as they will be able to discern what they’re feeling, understand what their emotions mean and how they impact other people.
The five key elements of emotional intelligence are:
- Self-awareness
- Self-regulation
- Motivation
- Empathy
- Social skills
Healthcare professionals who become more self-aware know how they feel and it impacts those around them. They understand their strengths and weaknesses and behave with empathy towards others and themselves.
Those who practice self-regulation don’t rush to anger or make hasty decisions, but instead remain in control emotionally and physically.
Motivated healthcare professionals know what their goals are and constantly work towards achieving them. They also maintain high standards, including their own health and well-being.
Empathetic healthcare professionals have the ability to put themselves into the others’ shoes. They strive to understand other people and are good at listening.
Social skills are greatly needed to become a healthier healthcare professional, because they involve the skill of effective communication. Therefore, they can process good or bad news, manage change and resolve conflicts, all of which can cause stress and burnout.
Become More Aware of What You Eat and Drink
Anyone who works in health care including hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities, home health or hospice agencies knows that the simple act of eating or drinking becomes a big challenge. There aren’t enough hours (or sometimes staff) to pay attention to one’s nutrition or hydration needs. Here are some tips to remember during those long, busy shifts at work.
- Drink at least 10 glasses of water a day and keep a large container of water where you can easily see it. If it’s in front of you, you are more likely to drink it. Water can be more appealing if you add citrus fruits to it.
- Take a day during the week to prepare your own homemade lunches and take them to work. This will help cut down on packaged and processed foods which serve little nutritional value. And remember to eat at least one raw food per meal.
- Limit the amount of caffeine you consume. While many experts in nutrition report that 2 or 3 cups of coffee per day is actually beneficial for brain health, overdoing it can have the opposite effects.
Become Energized and Know When to Slow Down
- Get some exercise in the workplace. Just because you’re in motion all day long doesn’t mean that you’re getting proper exercise. If you work behind a desk, look into desk exercises. If you have lots of meetings, make them walking meetings. If you can get outdoors and walk briskly for 15 minutes, do it.
- Take breaks when you need to. They don’t have to be long, just good quality down times where you can breathe, gather your thoughts, and recover from the stressful situations you’ve just left.
Final Thoughts on Healthcare Professionals’ Health and Well-Being
Sometimes the best things in life are the simple ones that we all tend to forget about. When it comes to taking better care of one’s health and well-being, healthcare professionals should learn about and practice effective emotional intelligence, monitor what they eat and drink and create balance between getting revved up and slowing down. These three practices can greatly improve physical, mental and emotional and spiritual health.