Aim/Objectives: To increase knowledge and understanding of how compassionate self-care can enhance health and wellbeing of nurses and midwives. To develop and practice some basic self-compassion skills.
Focus: Emerging evidence will be presented that confirms the health and wellbeing benefits of practicing self-compassion and how this can enable nurses and midwives to be compassionate to others.
Learning outcomes: To explore the concept of self-compassion and befriending yourself. To discover how self-compassion and compassionate clinical care are interwoven. To discuss the health and wellbeing benefits of self-compassion and compassion. To develop some self-compassion skills to prevent compassion fatigue and burnout.
Overview: The content of this workshop will be relevant to all nurses and midwives.
Workshop Plan: This workshop will be interactive and include:
Introducing the concept of self-compassion, and how this is an important component of selfcare. Calm breathing, deep relaxation, power of touch techniques will be introduced. A check-in meditation to increase awareness of the self-critic will be facilitated. Four interactive exercises to enable experiential learning:
o Dispelling the myths
o Accepting how we feel
o Befriending and being kind to self
o Being compassionate to self
Participants’ will create their own compassion affirmation to personally use as a wellbeing strategy. A check-out meditation to increase awareness of self-compassion and mindful techniques will bring the workshop to a close.
Implications for practice: Nurses and Midwives will find it challenging to be compassionate to others if they are not compassionate to themselves and at risk of compassion fatigue and burnout. This workshop relates to promoting an enabling environment and most importantly ‘caring for carers.’ which is often overlooked. This workshop will be underpinned by research evidence and provide some education and training.
Keywords: self-compassion, self-care, nurses, midwives.