Nurses from all over the country are coming together as a community to support each other to take better care of their health and wellbeing as part of the Australian College of Nursing’s (ACN) NurseStrong Campaign.
“On October 1, the NurseStrong Campaign will kick off with a 12-week exercise and healthy eating program run by FHIT by Lauren Hannaford,” said Australian College of Nursing CEO Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN.
“I am excited to announce that since the launch of the NurseStrong Campaign, over 1,500 nurses across the country have registered to complete the program. It demonstrates the value and demand that the profession gives to increasing focus on their own health and wellbeing.
“When we launched the program we hoped to have 1,000 nurses take part, so we are very excited that the profession has embraced this campaign so whole-heartedly. The level of registration shows that while it can be difficult to make time for self-care, nurses understand how important taking care of ourselves and each other is and want to help one another. We look forward to following the journeys of those who participate and hearing how their physical, mental and emotional health has improved.
“Nurses provide care all day, everyday, everywhere. Yet, as nurses we do not always give taking care of ourselves the same priority as taking care of others.
“Due to the nature of the work that nurses do caring for others, the program is designed so it can be accomplished in spite of the working shifts and long hours.
“There is an abundance of research available which shows that prevention of a number of non-communicable diseases such as obesity, hyperglycaemia and Type 2 diabetes, is directly related to the behavioural and lifestyle habits we make each day.
“On completion of the program, we hope nurses that take part will continue to make healthy choices an everyday part of their lifestyle.”
For more information about the campaign click https://www.acn.edu.au/nursestrong.