Healthy School Nurse Role Models
Honor School Nurse Day by Caring for Ourselves
Should school nurses and other healthcare professionals be role models for healthy living and be held to a higher standard of healthy behavior than the general public? Whether we believe we are or aren’t role models for a healthy lifestyle, the simple truth is that many of our students and staff do expect us to “lead by example.”
The
American Nurses Association defines a
healthy nurse as one who “actively focuses on creating and maintaining a balance and synergy of physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, personal and professional well-being,” and who “lives life to the fullest capacity, across the wellness/illness continuum, as they become stronger role models, advocates, and educators, personally, for their families, their communities and work environments, and ultimately for their patients.”
"It’s all about making gradual changes in our lifestyle choices."
School nurses face the same health and wellness issues as the general public, which may include sedentary lifestyles, poor nutrition choices, tobacco/alcohol use, and stress. School nurses also face unique stressors, such as compassion fatigue, long working hours, infectious disease, isolation, large student/staff client base, and burn-out, just to name a few. We too, are only human, and therefore may not be “walking the walk that we talk,” to be a healthy role model. We also understand that school nurses may face unpredictable health challenges.
Do you want to
be a healthier person?
Having a “positive self-image” means incorporating a “healthy” body image into our lives. Society tends to admire women who are paper thin and men who are muscular. Instead we need to focus on being healthier and fit and not conforming to a societal norm. It’s all about making
gradual changes in our lifestyle choices. We all need to really believe, “We are what we eat,” and “We are who we are from what we do!” Need I say more? Genes play an important role in our overall health, however, they do not influence what and when we eat, what kind of physical activity we participate in, and how much stress we bring into our lives.
"Healthy
people are happy people . . ."
Healthy people are happy people, who miss less work, have fewer chronic and acute illnesses, and usually live longer productive lives, which can really be powerful motivation. In order to provide optimal care for out students and staff, we must first “safeguard” our own health and wellness. As school nurses we are always up for a challenge, so now is the time, and today is the day, to begin to improve our own health. We can become an advocate and leader, by example, as “healthy school nurse role models!”
Post and let us know how you will improve your own health this year!
References
HealthyNurseTM
http://www.nursingworld.org/healthynurse