Nursing "Energized" Program Promotes Healthy Habits

Nurses who are healthy and vibrant ultimately share this sense of well-being with their patients. Sometimes, however, caring for patients, working long hours and rotating shifts can result in high levels of stress. Unfortunately, when our response to stress isn't understood and managed, it can be experienced as compassion fatigue, burnout and unprocessed grief.

To help Cleveland Clinic nurses keep their stress in check and make wellness a priority, Nursing Wellness kicked off the "Energized" program during Nurses Week in May. Designed to provide nurses with the opportunity to focus on recognizing self-rejuvenation techniques, the Energized program encourages nurses to ask themselves, "What did I do to take care of myself today?"

Awareness is key
When stress is high, energy is low and the to-do list is long, our response to the experience of stress can be much different than when our physical, mental, emotional, intellectual and spiritual energy is high, explains Michelle Cameron, RN, BSN, Manager, Nursing Wellness, Nursing World Class Service. Taking care of ourselves and connecting with emotions, people and activities that energize us is the idea behind the Energized program.

"We know when we're run down and what to do to reenergize and rebalance," Cameron says, "whether it's playing with our children, exercising, drinking more water, eating better or getting more restful sleep. We want to come to work as a whole person, and we need to be in that state of balance to experience well-being."

To help create awareness of these healthy habits, the Energized program teamed up with Employee Wellness, CONCERN, Pastoral Care and the Center for Integrative Medicine to offer nurses a variety of ways to receive information and support. Methods include customized wellness services, such as smoking cessation and nutrition management programs; public information sessions on compassion fatigue, grief, time management and stress relief; and on-site information and support sessions in the nursing units, where Reiki and biofeedback wellness breaks are offered.

Another essential component of the Energized program is the involvement of 75 Wellness Champions, who are responsible for modeling healthy behaviors and informing and motivating coworkers on their units. Megan Nelson, RN, ANM, Wellness Champion on G70, has been encouraging healthy behaviors by presenting coworkers with different health-related themes each month. Themes have included hydration, healthy snacking, walking, fitness and a stair-climbing challenge, which Nelson says was most popular.

"The Energized program has made wellness a priority," Nelson says. "Ultimately, it's up to our nurses to make healthy choices, but it's hard to do so when you're not aware of them."

"Healthy living is infectious"
In the three months since the Energized program began, Nelson says she can already see changes some employees have made on her unit, such as drinking water instead of coffee, choosing high-protein snacks and walking during breaks. "Some employees didn't realize that taking the stairs is sometimes more convenient than waiting for the elevator," Nelson says.

To help keep nurses motivated, those who have incorporated healthy changes into their lifestyle are rewarded. If the Green Apple Corps, a prize-patrol unit, catches nurses performing a healthy behavior, they receive prizes such as sunscreen and pens.

"Healthy living is infectious," Cameron says. "When someone sees that you're taking care of yourself, they also may be inspired to take care of themselves."

Cameron says this is the ultimate goal she hopes to convey to nurses. "Nurses' well-being affects not only them as individuals, but that of their coworkers, family and community members, and especially their patients," she says. "When nurses are experiencing a high sense of well-being, they ultimately share that sense of well-being with others."