• Careers
  • Education
  • Research
Ochsner Health Ochsner Health
  • About
  • Find A Doctor (current)
  • Find A Location
  • Specialties & Treatments
MyOchsner Logo
Login | Signup
Submit Search
Close Search
  •   Home
  • In To Your Health...
  • Food & Fitness
  • Conditions & Treatment
  • Health Trends
  • Prevention & Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Parenting
  • I need to...
  • Find A Doctor
  • Find A Location
  • Find A Specialty
  • Schedule An Appointment
  • Pay A Bill
  • Explore
  • About Ochsner
  • Careers
  • Patients & Visitors
  • "To Your Health" Blog
  • Health Resources
  • Medical Professionals
  • Education
  • Philanthropy
  • Community Outreach
  • Research
  • Ochsner Health Network
  • Schedule an Appointment
  • Call: 1-866-624-7637
  • Online: Login to MyOchsner
  • Personalize your content
  • patient Edit Persona Persona Chooser
To Your Health

View Newsletter Editions
  • Food & Fitness
  • Conditions & Treatment
  • Health Trends
  • Prevention & Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Parenting
Happy nurse in scrubs

Coronavirus: 5 Self-Care Habits for Healthcare Workers

Mar 20, 2020 |
By Nigel Girgrah, MD, Ph.D
Share Facebook Logo Twitter Logo Pinterest Logo Email Logo

Like all healthcare professionals around the world, our team here at Ochsner Health is working tirelessly to care for our patients during the coronavirus outbreak. We, too, are also balancing the needs of our communities, our families and ourselves.

Given the uncertainty of this pandemic, it is normal to feel stressed and worried as we take care of others. But we must also remember that we cannot take care of others unless we’re also taking care of ourselves.

To keep your mental health in check, consider incorporating the following recommendations into your daily life.

Think "Maslow’s Hierarchy"

It is hard to care for patients when we are worried about childcare, not sleeping well or forgetting to eat.

Solution: Be sure to prioritize time for your basic and important needs. Eat well, schedule time with your family and prioritize sleep. Actively communicate your needs to your leaders and team members rather than "sucking it up" until you are burned out.

If you’re an Ochsner employee, you can take advantage of our free childcare solutions at multiple locations. For any specific questions about childcare, please reach out directly to Kidcam Camp.

Slow down

Urgent requests and frequent changes cause us to feel frayed and frenetic. Intentionally slow yourself down.

Solution: When you switch between tasks or start a new one (leaving a patient room, preparing to make a phone call or responding to an email), do some mindful breathing for 10 seconds. This will reset your autonomic nervous system and will help you center yourself.

Set an alarm on your phone to remind you to take regular breaks, even if they’re only a couple minutes. During your break, consider using a meditation app rather than mindlessly scrolling through Instagram.

Constant use of social networking sites may increase stress, so consider decreasing screen time. Spending excessive amounts of time on your phone late at night could also lead to problems falling asleep, which could in turn lead to worsened feelings of anxiety or even depression.

For the latest updates on COVID-19, visit: Ochsner.org/coronavirus

Be relational

Social distancing, quarantines, closed restaurants, stressed out coworkers and worrying about catching the virus keep us all at a distance. We can feel isolated and at the same time annoyed about having to spend “too much” time with others.

Solution: Be intentional about calling, video chatting and other means of interaction with your loved ones. At work, check in with your colleagues, text each other funny family photos or even connect over lunch via Skype.

Keep your routines and structure in place

This pandemic has thrown our cherished routines (exercise, family meals, school drop-off) out of the window.

Solution: Schedule important routines at home and work. For instance, you may have to move your workout to a different time, but don’t stop doing it. Family dinner together may need to be shortened based on competing priorities, but keep this time, even if it’s only 15 minutes.

Maintain your healthy habits

Gyms are closed and a bottle of wine sounds like a good way to relax during these trying times, but we need to stay well.

Solution: Sign up for virtual exercise classes. Keep a gratitude journal and write down one thing you are grateful for each morning and evening. Maintain a healthy, well-balanced diet. Minimize your intake of alcohol and junk food.

The information in this blog post is accurate at the time of publication. However, as the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to change, it's possible that information has changed since being published. While Ochsner Health is trying to keep our blog posts as up-to-date as possible, we also encourage readers to stay informed on news and recommendations by using the CDC website.

Tags
self care

You may also be interested in:

Women Meditating
Prevention & Wellness
Mar 19, 2020

Managing Anxiety During Coronavirus Outbreak

With each new case of coronavirus, you may start to feel more and more anxious. Here are some tips to help lower anxiety and improve your mental health.
Boy sneezing into tissue
Prevention & Wellness
Mar 20, 2020

How to Clean a Room After Coronavirus Exposure

With the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the rise, understanding how to clean and disinfect rooms or areas where people with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infections have visited is important.
Mom looking at computer with Child
Prevention & Wellness
Mar 12, 2020

Coronavirus: Caring for Yourself or a Loved One

If you or a family member are suspected to have COVID-19, and your doctor thinks the symptoms can be managed at home, here are some steps you should follow.

Comments about the blog? Send us an email!

Ochsner Health Ochsner Health

Schedule An Appointment: 1-866-624-7637

Follow us: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Pinterest

Healthy living tips, delivered weekly to your inbox.

Patients & Visitors

  • Billing & Financial Services
  • Insurance Information
  • International Patients
  • Request Medical Records
  • Share Your Story
  • Read Patient Stories

Medical Professionals

  • Transfer a Patient
  • Refer a Patient

Health Resources

  • To Your Health Blog
  • Golden Opportunity
  • Hello Health Seminars
  • Ochsner Magazine

Job Seekers

  • Career Paths
  • Benefits
  • Open Positions

Employees

  • Webmail
  • OHSLink
  • Workday

Employers

  • Corporate Wellness
  • Medicare Advantage Plans

Community Outreach

  • Classes & Events
  • Programs
  • Community Health Needs Assessment
  • Dr. John Ochsner Discovery Health Sciences Academy

Education

  • Graduate Medical Education
  • Clinical Medical Education
  • Continuing Medical Education
  • Medical Library
  • Publishing Services
  • Medical Illustrations

Research

  • Clinical Trials
  • Applied Health Services Research
  • Clinical Research & Trials
  • Nursing Research
  • Translational Research

Giving

  • Donate
  • Volunteer

About Ochsner

  • Mission & Vision
  • History
  • Annual Report
  • Outcomes & Honors
  • News & Media
  • Alumni
  • Ochsner Health Network
  • Contact Us

Shop

  • O Bar
  • Optical Shop
  • Ochsner Fitness Center
  • Brent House Hotel

© Ochsner Health  | Notice of Privacy Practices | Terms of Use | Vendor Information

Ochsner accepts all major insurances.

Ochsner is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, founded on providing the best patient care, research, and education.

We are one of the country’s largest non-university based academic medical centers.

Ochsner is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Community Needs Health Assessment

EpicMobile Tablet | EpicMobile Phone

Healthy Living Tips, Delivered Right To Your Inbox

* indicates required


Must Reads
Food and Fitness
Men’s Health
Parenting
Women’s Health

Source:
Source Description:
Marketing Goal:


Get Weekly Health Tips

Select the weekly newsletters you'd like to receive.

Please select at least one category to continue.

Curious about our newsletters?

View details for each edition

Let us know where to send your weekly newsletters.

To Your Health- Food and Fitness:
To Your Health- General:
To Your Health- Men’s Health:
To Your Health- Parenting:
To Your Health- Women’s Health:

Source:
Source Description:
Marketing Goal:

You're all set!

We’ll send newsletters full of healthy living tips right to your inbox every week.

Ochsner Health System
ESC to Close

Begin Typing to Search

Select the drop-down to filter Search by Blog Articles or Sitewide