Being a nursing leader requires self-care, which is an important duty. In their professional capacity, registered nurses have a responsibility to their patients, colleagues, communities, and society. Self-care is crucial for maintaining health, managing pressures, and being the best leader for nursing team members. Self-care should be a practice for medical professionals since it is essential to preserving one’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
The self is the center of overall well-being, and if the requirements of the self are not met, the other circles cannot be properly constructed. Consequently, it is strongly related to self-leadership because it allows one to concentrate on setting a good example and empowering the people under the leadership, which is critical for managing the team. Additionally, authentic leaders speak their minds and allow other team members to do it as well. They are honest and upfront about their opinions and thoughts. (Vitello-Cicciu, 2019). Only those who have taken the time to learn about themselves and are in contact with the person they are and what characteristics they obtain can achieve this level of openness.
A leader’s first duty is to encourage nurses to take care of themselves to continue providing safe, effective patient care. In the position of a nurse executive, it is one of my duties to provide group members with the opportunity to get additional education, tools, personal time, and competencies they require to engage in self-care. Offering weekly meditation seminars to nursing staff and leaders is one idea for encouraging self-care and self-leadership. Another key idea for promoting self-care and self-leadership is to create an environment that values self-care and encourages team members to practice it.
Reference
Vitello-Cicciu, J. M. (2019). Am I an authentic nursing leader for healthy workplace environments? Nurse Leader, 17(3), 201-206. Web.