Self-Care Resources

The nursing profession offers many advantages and attracts people who are willing to help others. Showing up everyday for others is a noble pursuit...and it can leave one feeling overwhelmed and stressed.  While self-care is certainly not the complete answer, it can be one component of working towards more balance.  See below for potential resources to assist nurses:

Building Resiliency 

Psychological First Aid: This presentation was developed by the University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences for UW Medicine's healthcare managers. It is a guide to identifying distress, taking supportive measures in the moment and building resiliency during a crisis. It is based on World Health Organization's Psychological First Aid: Guide for Field Workers and Psychological First Aid Adapted for the Ebola Outbreak.

American Nurses Foundation has created a new Well-being Initiative to help address the mental health needs of nurses including how to build resiliency.The Well-Being Initiative offers resources that focus on caring for nurses as they tirelessly care for others.

Yoga, Meditation & Mindfulness Tools

Moodfit application provides tools and insight to improve the fitness of your mind. Tools include mood tracking, gratitude journal, mindfulness meditation, breathing exercises and more. Thanks to a grant from The American Nurses Foundation, nurses have access to the full premium version of Moodfit at NO cost.

Happy app has partnered with the American Nurses Foundation to bring relief and support to nurses. An easy-to-use smart phone app connects nurses with on-demand access to speak one-on-one with a Support Giver team member. FREE.

Intro to Yoga for Nurses is a private group on Facebook especially for nurses and nursing students. It is managed by Brittany Stoeckel, ANCP-BC, RYT 200, a surgical ICU nurse practitioner and yoga teacher. She did her yoga training at the Beaumont School of Yoga Therapy and is the owner of Private Yoga Detroit. She is working to create a community of nurses around the world who take self-care and self-love seriously. Brittany shares this graphic with us as a reminder to breathe:

Unwound Retreats was founded by former Critical Care Nurse Nicole Johnson, RN, BSN, CCRN. Based in Seattle, she is passionate about guiding nurses to be proactive in their approach to battling burnout and building resiliency. She provides local and international retreats for nurses as well as workshops utilizing self-care practices such as yoga, meditation and mindfulness as well as gratitude and self-compassion exercises.  Nicole shares these links to practical self-care exercises: Self-Compassion Exercise, Gratitude Practice, Loving Kindness Meditation.

Talk Therapy

Trauma Recovery Network of Western Washington is a group of specially trained therapists who assists those who are, or have in the past, experienced trauma through the use of EMDR (Eye Movement, Desensitization and Reprocessing). Currently, they are offering a limited number of pro-bono therapy sessions for nurses and other first responders. If you are interested, please email them at  info@traumarecoverywa.org to be connected with a therapist. 

Support & Social Groups for Nurses

Nurse Your Soul with Lisa was created by Lisa Dunlap, AGPCNP-BC, Resilience Coach & Integrative Nurse Practitioner. Lisa combines her 13 years of nursing experience with training and practice in healing touch, reflexology, clinical aromatherapy and mindfulness. She inspires others in healthcare to create self-nurture rituals and holistic tools to thrive. She provides webinars, workshops and coaching.  She manages a free Facebook Group: Burnout to Bliss for Females in Healthcare.

Managing Traumatic Stress & Crisis Intervention 

In this article, the American Psychiatric Nurses Association provides tools and resources for how nurses can deal with traumatic stress:

• King County 24-hour Crisis Line: 866-427-4747
• Suicide Prevention Line: 800-273-8255

Self Care for Nurses- Video Series

Washington Center for Nursing produced Self Care for Nurses, a Matter of Life & Death, a series of short videos that reflect on ways nurses can manage stress. Topics include exercise, nutrition, sleep, therapy, acceptance and more. Host Sofia Aragon, JD, BSN, RN, Executive Director of Washington Center for Nursing, discusses topics with Stefan J. Torres, BSN, RN, CEN, a local ER nurse and public health advocate.

Frontline Nurses WikiWisdom Forum

John Hopkins School of Nursing and American Journal of Nursing teamed up to create the Frontline Nurses WikiWisdom Forum along with a final report with powerful insights into lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Resources for Nurses: Washington State Nurses Association 

Find out about your state's professional nurses association: WSNA! In addition to offering union support, WSNA provides a great place for nurses to build their profession through education, advocacy, networking and much more. Get involved today!

King County Nurses (KCNA) is an official Region of WSNA. If you are a member of WSNA and designated King County as the county where you work/live, then you are automatically a member of KCNA. We are happy to serve as your local nurses association.