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Self-care for clinicians is the foundation of healthy practices, empowering healthcare professionals to give their best to themselves and their patients daily.

A popular saying, “You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of others,” highlights the significance of self-care in promoting and maintaining physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

In various healthcare settings, healthcare professionals dedicate themselves to delivering quality patient care, despite the sometimes demanding and unpredictable daily tasks. The significant challenges, uncertainty, and physical and mental stresses experienced by many during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in increased workloads and longer work schedules. Often, because of staff shortages, increased work demands, physical exhaustion, augmented degrees of job-related burnout, sleep difficulties, and mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

Several studies have also shown that the pandemic has highlighted awareness about the importance of self-care among healthcare professionals. One survey¹ involving 300 family medicine and internal medicine physicians found that while 80% of physicians surveyed considered self-care very important, only 57% reported practicing it regularly, and 36% practiced self-care occasionally. Despite acknowledging its importance, many physicians cited a lack of time (72%) as a primary reason for not employing self-care measures.¹ Other key findings include:

• Expanding job responsibilities (59%) and burnout (25%).
• An estimated (45%) of physicians reported that family obligations hinder their ability to practice self-care, and 20% admitted feeling guilty about taking time for themselves.
• Almost all physicians (98%) consider self-care to positively impact mental health, and 97% feel it benefits physical health.
• Ninety-six percent of physicians believe that self-care should be a fundamental aspect of overall health.
• When employing self-care measures, 87% of physicians stated it was to retain or improve their physical health, 83% noted it was to decrease stress, and 82% indicated it was to support their mental well-being.
• Popular self-care measures among physicians included exercise (83%), consuming nutritious foods (81%), nurturing healthy relationships (77%), engaging in personal growth (76%), participating in stress relief activities such as reading or meditating (70%), and ensuring sufficient sleep each night (70%).¹

In another survey published in PloS One,² results revealed that pre-pandemic and during the pandemic, the observed magnitude of self-care among healthcare professionals increased from 54.3% to 86.6%, respectively.²

Another publication in BMC Medical Informatics and Decision-Making³  indicated that healthcare professionals often miss opportunities for self-care due to heavy work demands. This study aimed to assess the impact of mobile-based self-care applications on reducing anxiety among healthcare professionals. Results showed that the use of self-care applications effectively decreased stress, anxiety, and depression but should always be tailored to individual needs. The authors also found that the most frequently employed anxiety-reduction techniques included one or more of the following:  mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral therapy, physical activities, breathing exercises, dietary plans, and virtual reality nature exploration.³

Clinician Perspectives

A physician stated, “The demands of caring for patients, including medical exams, ordering and reviewing labs, patient charting, and preparing for office visits, often challenge my ability to incorporate self-care into my day-to-day routine. Some days, I don’t drink enough water, eat lunch, or finish all my lunch because I am working. I do think that self-care is critical for me to do my job effectively. Since the new year has started, I have been trying to make an effort to take breaks when needed and to exercise, even if it means taking a quick walk with my family, relaxing, and eating a healthy dinner when I get home. So far, those little things are paying off, and I realize that self-care is the best thing I can do for myself, and it benefits my family and the patients I care for daily. I even ask my patients about self-care, too.”

A pharmacist in a community setting stated, “I never really thought much about the importance of self-care until I started to experience health issues. Some days can be very stressful, non-stop, and demanding. When my shift ends, I am mentally and physically exhausted and often don’t eat healthy foods, snack too much, or consume too much coffee throughout the day. After experiencing my own health issues, I now understand the impact of self-care and that I need to implement healthy habits into my daily routine for my overall health and well-being. While medication is necessary for many health issues, preventative healthcare measures, including self-care, are of critical importance. When counseling patients, I often try to remind my patients about self-care and encourage them to take active roles in their overall health.”

The Importance of Self-Care for Healthcare Professionals

The value of self-care is often underestimated, yet it is essential for healthcare professionals. It helps prevent and manage stress, promotes overall health and well-being, and may reduce or prevent burnout despite the demands of their practices. Prioritizing self-care is critical; when healthcare professionals take care of themselves, these valued members of the healthcare system demonstrate positive examples of the impact of self-care on their patients. Self-care is the foundation of healthy practices, empowering healthcare professionals to give their best to themselves and their patients daily.

A good prescription for self-care is to maintain a healthy, balanced diet every day, get adequate sleep and rest, exercise, seek a balance between work and life, find positive ways to manage stress, practice relaxation techniques, cultivate an attitude of gratitude, maintain a healthy support system with family and friends, and obtain routine healthcare.

Remember, by practicing self-care to promote good health practices and enhance physical and mental well-being, you can improve your ability to care for others, which in may motivate your patients to do the same.