SelfCare for HealthCare Blog - Nurture Your Mind, Body and Spirit

Retaining Top Employees More Difficult

March 29, 2017

Employers need to work harder to retain top employees as the labor market tightens, says the Society of Human Resource Management. Since 2012 it has become more difficult to retain employees at all levels of an organization. The cost of replacing highly skilled staff prompts more employers to look for new ways to boost retention.…

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Reduce Workplace Stress, Boost Morale and Productivity

March 28, 2017

Sixty percent of workers say work-related pressure has increased in the last five years, according to new research from the staffing firm Accountemps. Millennials top this super-stressed list with 64 percent saying they’re overwhelmed at work, compared with 59 percent of 35 to 54 year-olds, and only 35 percent of those 55 and older. Increases…

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From Triple to Quadruple Aim

March 27, 2017

The Triple Aim—enhancing patient experience, improving population health, and reducing costs—is widely accepted as a guide to optimize health system performance. At the same time, physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers report widespread burnout and dissatisfaction. Burnout is associated with lower patient satisfaction, reduced health outcomes, and increase costs, endangering the Triple Aim goals. There…

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Emotional Stress Predicts Heart Attacks

March 26, 2017

A new medical study explains why there is a direct correlation between stress and heart attacks. Scientists discovered that increased brain activity in the area of emotional processing (the amygdala) directly increases the risk of cardiovascular events. Overwhelming emotions and traumatic memories linked with current traumatic experiences increase the metabolic activity in the amygdala. Researchers…

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Common Caretaker Stressors & Our Solution

March 24, 2017

The healthcare field is far from free of its fair share of stressors. So, it’s no stretch of the mind that nurses, doctors, and other caretakers are burning out. Statistics embody this truth: About one out of every five nurses quit their job in their first year of practice, and about one out of every…

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Only One in Six Parents Think Their Kids’ Diets Are Nutritious

March 21, 2017

Even though most American parents believe good nutrition is important for their children, only one-third think they’re doing a good job teaching their kids healthy eating habits. A poll of more than 1,700 parents with children aged 4 to 18 discovered that half of the respondents believe their children eat a mostly healthful diet, but…

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Can Physical Activity Reduce Cancer?

March 16, 2017

Physical activity can reduce breast cancer mortality by about 40 percent, according to researchers Julia Hamer, HBSc, and Ellen Warner, MD, HBSc, division of medical oncology and hematology, Odette Cancer Center, Toronto. They defined physical activity as either a half hour of moderate-intensity exercise five days per week or 75 minutes of more vigorous exercise in conjunction with several…

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SelfCare for HealthCare Promotes Patient Safety

March 10, 2017

All healthcare givers and leaders agree that when we take better care of ourselves we can take better care of patients. Patient Safety Awareness Week is a perfect time to explore that proof. No one can deny that working in healthcare is stressful. Stress has been regarded as an occupational hazard since the mid-1950s, causing…

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Yoga and Breathing Decrease Depression

March 4, 2017

A new study finds that participation in yoga and deep breathing classes can help people with depression. Researchers discovered that practicing these exercises at least twice weekly plus at home can supplement pharmacological treatments for depression. The findings published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, reports that major depressive disorder (MDD) is common, recurrent, chronic,…

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Harms Critical Care Nurses

March 1, 2017

Critical care nurses often experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when asked to recall unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate patients. One study published in the American Journal of Critical Care analyzed the results of an online survey of 490 critical care nurses. “Finding ways to minimize distress and improve resiliency not only helps the individual nurse…

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