A few years ago, I fell in love with the tagline from a popular advertisement, “The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.” I must confess I’ve never had the coffee, but I loved the thought of highlighting the best part of the day. These days, I’ve changed the tagline and time of day in my head: “The best part of ending the day is shutting down my computer.” Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy being an educator. I am happy that despite the pandemic, I am still able to teach my nursing students. I’ll also be honest and say that between the continuous flow of online classes and meetings, I have found it necessary to shut down and step away from work at the end of the day.
Suddenly, institutions closed and nursing educators were in the middle of a whirlwind to transition to complete virtual teaching. Additionally, this transition included having to recreate your classroom and office at home. Initially, I was relieved to be safe and protected but then came the realization of performing my professional duties from home. It also dawned on me that a work-from-home balance was going to be precarious at best and a constant work in progress.
The nurse in me (more so the mental health advocate in me) knew that this was definitely the time to increase the use of appropriate coping to adapt and adjust to life’s stressors. Navigating the new daily normal came with good days and not so good days, though. It’s reasonable to argue that the virtual learning space was not quite ready for a complete sudden transition to online delivery only. There were many frustrations with the internet service providers, the technological challenges, and balancing working from home. Additionally, the number of meetings increased. It felt like virtual meetings did not need spacing in between them and office hours did not apply.
Despite all this, the biggest hit to my mental health came from the lack of face-to-face interactions with my students. I loved walking around my classroom and having active discussions during class. I loved that by the middle of a semester, I usually knew all the names and faces of my students. I took pride in being able to read facial expressions and body language as cues that learning was actually happening or not.
The nursing leader and educator within me acknowledged the positives of this pandemic for education, too. The impossible became possible, output was expected to remain on par, and nursing education would continue. Many students would now have the opportunity to begin or continue their nursing education through distance learning. While there is no substitution for the clinical component of nursing, there was, however, an increase in the use of simulation and other online resources to bolster clinical teaching and experience. There was also an opportunity created to revise the curricula of nursing schools to reflect current and future needs within a pandemic.
Even with this understanding and recognition, there were still days when I felt overwhelmed. Days when I had to acknowledge that maintaining my mental health was more of a challenge during this pandemic but had to be a priority. Here are a few ways that I maintained both my physical and mental health:
- I created and organized my own workspace to increase my comfort and productivity.
- With multiple virtual meetings and classroom sessions per day, I utilized ergonomically correct desks and chairs. In fact, a versatile desk which can accommodate periodic standing is also a great suggestion to minimize the prolonged sitting.
- It is also very essential to be organized and have great time management to keep the various schedules coordinated and separated. I have to confess that at various times I thought that it was impossible, but I brought my inner nurse to the forefront.
- I learned to accept the multifaceted role I would now be playing where my children were concerned. I would need to fill all the roles required for school, since school was at home and so was I. I also made a concerted effort to keep the work and home schedules separate.
- I started my day with a basic to-do list and prioritized for the day.
- I set office hours similar to my prior face-to-face hours. I chose not to be readily available for work outside my ‘office hours.’
- Additionally, I spent a little time each day to become more familiar with the learning platform, which increased my confidence and competence. It also provided me with additional opportunities to increase engagement with my students.
As we work towards achieving physical comfort, we also need to build our resilience and continuously work on our mental health. My final two coping mechanisms are talking and self-care.
- Talk with your family about how you are feeling and managing. Talk with your colleagues about the challenges and successes of the virtual teaching and learning environment. Talk with a professional if you believe you’ve tried all you can, but you still do not feel as if you’re managing.
- Have a circle of support and be a part of someone’s circle of support. Check in on each other.
- There is a time for everything, including being selfish. Have healthy lifestyle practices, have a pampering routine, take a little time for yourself each day if you can or at least once per week. Take the time to turn off that work switch, turn off those computers and other devices, and take a much-needed screen break.
We can view this as an opportunity to not only teach health promotion and health education but to also ‘practice what we teach.’ An opportunity as nurses to either reinforce or demonstrate healthy lifestyle practices, including positive mental health. An opportunity to ensure that we prioritize ourselves. Self-care is one of the most important factors in our delivery of healthcare, no matter what sphere of nursing we practice in. Take the break you need, shut down from work at the end of the day, utilize best practices and strategies. Remember there’s no good health without good mental health.
Sheryl Garriques-Lloyd, MSN, BSN, is a lecturer at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. She is a member of Sigma’s Omega Kappa Chapter.