The American Nurses Association has declared the year 2017 as the year of the healthy nurse with the tagline: “Balance your life for a healthier you.” This is in recognition of the impact that increased nurse health, safety, and wellness has on patient outcomes, quality of care, and overall nurse satisfaction and quality of life.
According to ANA, a healthy nurse is someone who actively focuses on creating and maintaining a balance and synergy of physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, personal and professional well-being. The worldwide known organization feels that nurses are ideally positioned to be the best role models, educators, and advocates of health, safety, and wellness.
Additionally, in the year 2016, ANA conducted a Health Risk Appraisal which shows alarming trends for registered nurses (RNs) and nursing students:
- An average BMI of 27.6 (overweight)
- 12% have nodded off while driving in the past month
- Only 16% eat the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables
- Less than half perform the recommended quantity and time of muscle-strengthening exercises (ICG & ANA, 2016)
In line with this, it is ANA’s aim to improve the health of the nation’s 3.6 million registered nurses and in turn improve the health of the nation this year. Every month, there are resources, events, and activities offered to address special well-being issues that are not only beneficial for nurses, but to their co-workers, families, patients, and the communities in which they live, work, and play as well. Refer to the list below for topics for each month:
MONTH TOPIC
January • Worksite Wellness
February • Cardiovascular Health
March • Nutrition
April • Combatting Stress
May • Women’s Health
- National Fitness and Sports Month
June • Men’s Health
- Cancer Awareness
- Skin Health
July • Healthy Sleep
August • Happiness
September • Recovery
- Work-Life Balance
October • Infection Control
- Immunizations
- Moral Resilience/Moral Distress
November • Mental Health
- Wellness
December • Healthy Eating/Healthy Holidays
Year of the Healthy Nurse resources will include:
- Sharable social media graphics, logo, tweets, and Facebook posts
- Dedicated “Year of the Healthy Nurse” nursingworld.org webpages filled with resources and events and updated monthly
- ANA member messaging
- Toolkit for 2017 National Nurses Week (May 6–12)
- Thematic articles throughout the year in ANA’s periodical, American Nurse Today
- Multiple Navigate Nursing webinars related to the Year of the Healthy Nurse
Sources:
- https://www.wsna.org/nursing-update/2017/ana-designates-2017-as-year-of-the-healthy-nurse
- https://nursingworld.org/yearofhealthynurse
- https://www.nursingworld.org/2017-YearoftheHealthyNurse-Factsheet
