Despite all the talk about critical thinking, nurses operate in a very task-oriented system. In our rush to take care of all our patients’ needs, we are prone to neglect ourselves, which affects not only our own health but also our ability to care for patients.

Remember, there are few things that can’t wait five minutes, so take a moment for yourself. Much of my increased efficiency at the bedside results from the way I now manage a shift. I use to run around getting everything done before taking a break, which often meant the entire shift went by without taking a break. This would result in being hungry half the shift, causing a bout of overeating when I finally got the chance to eat. Is it any wonder that I started to put on weight after becoming a nurse?

I now come to work with small prepared meals that I can quickly eat on the go while charting or double-checking medications. I make a point to eat every two-and-a-half to three hours so my blood sugar never drops and my metabolism burns high. My three-to-five minute meal breaks became a regular pause button in which I would stop to breath and reprioritize tasks.

There is a natural tendency for people to let stress build up and then blow it off all at once, but research shows stress is best handled in the moment. You can do this by creating a mechanism for which you train yourself to stop and become conscious about your body enough to slow your heart rate down. Within a couple of breaths you can take yourself out of reactive mode and into a productive processing mode again. There is actually a well developed theory for this process called “mindfulness.” If you have ever taken a yoga class your instructor might have led you through breathing and/or guided imagery exercises to consciously relax your muscles and remove tension. Yoga is a great tool for developing mindfulness, which can then be transferred to the work setting.

What strategies have you find helpful for managing stress on the job?