ANA Nurses’ monthly activities concentrate on recognition and support

Supporting nurses’ mental health

As part “Thank a Nurse” campaign.which can run throughout Nurses Month, residents may have the chance to make a monetary donation that may help support critical initiatives of the American Nurses Foundation, similar to providing nurses with mental health support, supporting nurses’ research on latest care solutions, and improving health equity.

Mensik Kennedy said May will largely concentrate on the mental health challenges nurses often face. The Well-Being Initiative Foundation includes a variety of resources to assist struggling nurses, similar to a free app to support nurses’ mental health and well-being, free counseling resources, and hotlines and toll-free numbers offering resources and support for suicide prevention and substance use disorders.

“Nurses are sometimes afraid to confess that they might have mental health problems,” she said. “While we all know that nursing is a rewarding career, additionally it is demanding. We actually concentrate on taking good care of ourselves.”

The American Nurses Foundation Stress and Burnout Prevention Program it also goals to assist nurses reduce burnout, address stress and increase their self-confidence. This system features a confidential nurse self-assessment to measure stress levels and free, customizable tools to assist manage stress.

Hatmaker noted that nurses proceed to report increased levels of stress and burnout, even after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Likewise Nurse.com Nurse Salaries and Working Life Report 2024 found that 54% of nurses had experienced long-term stress up to now two years and 59% had experienced burnout.

“The health care work environment remains to be very stressful without delay,” she said. “We’re still recovering from the results of the Covid-19 crisis. Burnout is a really significant issue that we’re currently battling.”

The Thank You Nurse campaign may even help support the American Nurses Foundation’s Reimagining Nursing Initiative, a $14 million initiative that funds 10 nurse-led pilot projects to rework health care through modern technology solutions and latest models of care.

Promoting health equity

One other goal of ANA during Nurses Week and all year long is to advertise greater equity in health care amongst diverse ethnic and socioeconomic groups and improve access to care in underserved communities.

“We knew before the pandemic that health care was not provided equally across all demographic groups,” Hatmaker said. “Now we have actually turn into much more aware of those inequalities through the pandemic. We’re really taking a look at what we’d like to concentrate on to enhance health equity.”

As in previous years, ANA will proceed to support employer efforts on behalf of healthcare organizations which might be planning their very own Nurses Week or Nurse Month observances. ANA developed Nurses Week Toolkitwith social media resources, printable posters, thanks cards and more that organizations can use to plan their very own events.

While Nurse Week and Nurse Month events are essential to employees, Hatmaker said healthcare organizations need to acknowledge nurses’ contributions year-round.

“It isn’t necessarily about having an event on sooner or later, it’s about nurses getting the support they need all 12 months round,” she said.