Table 1.
NURSE micropractices
| Notice without judgement Observe behaviors that work and that do not work (Coyne et al., 2020) |
Micropractice To become more aware of ourselves and surroundings (a) Take 3 deep nourishing breaths while (b) Completely relaxing your body tension These actions help us respond better to our environment |
| Unconditional acceptance Accept, evaluate situation without exaggeration. Respond with self-kindness (Neff et al., 2020) |
Micropractice Place our hand on our heart and acknowledge, “I feel anxious/sad/exhausted/stressed” (a) Unconditionally accept the content of our feeling (b) Choose to respond with self-kindness in the form of any positive thoughts about ourselves |
| Response-able Use special phrases to create a gap between the difficult circumstances and our automatic responses (Covey, 2020) |
Micropractices Take control of how we respond verbally and in your thinking. Like elite athletes we can pick our favorite chant: “I am a good nurse,” “I make a difference,” or any empowering quote allowing us to do the following: (a) First pause and (b) Then respond to situations and acknowledge our full abilities |
| Strengths focused We can flourish under challenging situations by focusing on our strengths (Seligman, 2002) |
Micropractice Making a list of positive personal strengths. Use existing task time to do this. (a) While walking or getting dressed (b) At a stop light (c) Before going into a patient’s room (d) While washing your hands (e) At the end of the shift Allow this knowing to radiate a sense of pride and accomplishment |
| Empowered Brief self-compassionate physical actions build inner strength (Andersen et al., 2022; Neff & Germer, 2018) |
Micropractice The Tree yoga pose can be practiced quickly and helps build core strength. (a) Stand with our feet shoulder-width apart (b) Take a slow deep breath while lifting the hands above our heads towards the sky. Lift the heels off the floor if comfortable. (c) Hold the position for a few seconds then gently bring our arms back to our side while exhaling completely. Yoga improves anabolic, lymphatic, and metabolic health |