Nars holds self-care forum for nurses |27 June 2020

Ms Moumou facilitating the forum (Photos: Thomas Meriton)

A group of nurses working in the triage/screening areas of the health facilities with regard to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, are participating in a two-day ‘Forum on Burn Out’, in relation to stress management.

Organised by the Nurses Association of the Republic of Seychelles (Nars), the retreat forum, which started yesterday at Care House, is to empower the nurses to prevent burn-out during work and therefore allowing them to explore the concept of stress by providing them with self-care techniques for successful management of stress which is essential for their well-being and that of the patients in their care.

The self-care techniques include mindfulness, meditation, exercise, nutrition, sleep, journaling, acupressure, art, breathing, finger holds and lots more.

These techniques are aimed at recognising the signs and symptoms of stress, reducing stress to prevent abuse and neglect and stress management strategies and techniques among other topics.

In her introduction, Margaret Moumou, the facilitator of the two-day forum, said that although nursing is a very rewarding career, it is also an incredibly stressful one having to cope with it (stress) on a daily basis among other difficult situations.

She noted that stress and burn-out has been known to affect 10 to 70% of nurses and if not treated can lead to fatigue, exhaustion and detachment from work which may lead to patient safety concerns.

Ms Moumou remarked that sources of stress may be patients and cases observed, time constraints to get work done, conflict with leadership or co-workers, or a feeling of lack of control in their work environment.

Before the start of the forum yesterday, the participants engaged in a self-care massage of the temple, hands and feet and mind relaxation.

According to Nars chairperson Rosie Bistoquet, the coronavirus which is spread by droplets infection and has the potential to be fatal, is an added stress to the health care providers and it is in this line that signs of burn-out in some nurses have been noticed.

She said that the situation calls for the association to bring its support, in terms of skills, to prevent burn-out, especially for the moderate risk workers working in the triage/screening areas, given the fact that the Ministry of Health is providing weekly trainings mainly to critical workers working in the isolation centre and to those working with severe cases in quarantine centres.

She noted that based on allowed situation in relation to the pandemic, Nars will organise similar forums in the future for other nurses working in the moderate risk environment.

The two-day forum are being attended by nurses working in moderate risk areas and coming from all regions on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue.

Patrick Joubert