World Mental Health Day is Tomorrow - See if Your Work-life Balance is Healthy
The World Health Organization observes World Mental Health Day every October 10. It's a day to raise awareness about health issues and mobilize efforts to promote mental health.
Nurses dedicate their careers to helping others, but sometimes the chronic stress of heavy workload and workplace trauma can erode well-being and impact health. We need to take care of ourselves as we provide complex health services to others.
Want to know if your work-life balance needs attention? Take the Canadian Mental Health Association's five-minute online test.
BCNU has negotiated supports for members who are struggling to find balance:
- Your Employee Assistance Program can quickly triage problems and provide support.
- Nurses in the provincial contract get $900 annually to access clinical counsellors or psychologists.
- Critical incident support is available through your employer. Nurses must receive Critical Incident Support on employer-paid time.
- BCNU provides Personal Resilience Workshops to help nurses recognize compassion fatigue, moral distress and PTSD. The workshop will help you build personal and professional resilience.
Taking regular breaks, limiting extra shifts, eating well and getting exercise are all ways to help nurses stay healthy. If the CMHA test gave you a troubling score, take action to build better work-life balance.