workforce
Heal thyself
Not enough is being done to promote the importance of self-care and encourage its practice among palliative care professionals .
Jason Mills interviewed by Dallas Bastian
Most palliative care professionals agree that self-care is very important , but a considerable proportion rarely engage with relevant strategies , a new study has found .
The research , led by Jason Mills , a lecturer at Queensland University of Technology ’ s School of Nursing , explores the perceptions , education and practices relating to self-care among palliative care nursing and medical professionals .
It finds that fewer than half frequently practise selfcare strategies during a working week , and just over a 10th do so rarely .
A majority of the survey ’ s respondents also indicate they have not received education or training in the workplace about effective self-care strategies .
“ The use of self-care plans is reported to be an effective self-care strategy ; however , there is very low uptake among palliative care nurses and doctors ,” Mills ’ s team concludes in their paper .
“ These limitations to self-care practice should be addressed through targeted training and selfcare education , as most indicated they would be receptive to this . Given that self-care practice is a professional expectation in palliative care , requisite education is necessary to support effective selfcare in the palliative care workforce . Such initiatives could promote greater understanding of self-care , awareness of domains , and uptake of self-care plans .”
Aged Care Insite sits down with Mills to discuss the importance of self-care and the different ways palliative care professionals can look after themselves .
ACI : What is self-care , and why is it important for palliative care professionals ? JM : Self-care includes a variety of strategies or behaviours that people choose to promote their own good health and general wellbeing . And the literature tells us that self-care is especially important for those working in areas like palliative care because it offers a means to prevent or address workforce issues such as occupational stress or burnout , which have the potential to impact on one ’ s own health as well as the quality of care provided to patients .
Why might some palliative care professionals forgo self-care ? For some people , it may be a case of not appreciating the reality that unless you first take care of yourself , you ’ re not likely to be in a good position to look after others in the long term . Health professionals are so focused on caring for others that sometimes thinking about your own health needs may not seem like a priority . Then again , other people might appreciate the importance of self-care , but they might find it difficult in practice because , for example , their workplace may not be entirely conducive to self-care practice .
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