Primary care nursing: how to boost well-being and build resilience
Among the many pressures on the NHS, there can also be a huge emotional cost for nursing staff working in primary care. As a result of this emotional cost there is a pressing need to develop interventions to improve the well-being and resilience of nurses in primary care. One specific aspect that can help individual staff and the team is restorative clinical supervision. Making time to attend supervision sessions can result in a sense of belonging and of validation.
Making time for restorative clinical supervision can result in a sense of belonging and of validation in primary care nursing staff
Why is no one talking about the emotional cost experienced by nursing staff in primary care? The pressure on our health service is well documented and in primary care the volume of work and decreasing number of GPs is often in the news, but the voice of nurses does not make the headlines.
Clearly, there is a need to develop interventions to improve the well-being and resilience of nurses in primary care. It is well known that staff who feel valued, supported and respected are more likely to stay in post and are less prone to burnout, which is also good for patient care.
‘There is one specific aspect that can help both individuals and the team: restorative clinical supervision’
Generally a multi-faceted approach is needed, but there is one specific aspect that can help both individuals and the team: restorative clinical supervision.
Having time for regular clinical supervision sessions shows you value staff well-being
We know being able to have meaningful discussions in a safe environment helps support the individual and enables development of relationships within teams. Making time for regular clinical supervision sessions shows your organisation values the well-being of nursing staff both individually and as a collective.
Resilience-based Clinical Supervision (RBCS) is a form of restorative supervision. It supports individuals to understand and therefore respond to emotional and psychological demands by considering the emotional regulatory systems.
Nurses who have completed the programme say that not only does it help them in terms of their own resilience, but it enables them to lead supervision sessions in their workplace and it proactively supports a culture of transparency and accountability.
Regular protected time to attend supervision sessions results in a sense of belonging, of validation.
Primary care organisations should be encouraged to recognise the value of RBCS and consider it a useful and important adjunct to resources they offer in their well-being strategies.
For further information visit the Foundation of Nursing Studies website.
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