WELCOME TO THE WELL ADJUSTED RT!
Hello and welcome to this Education Forum. I am a Respiratory Therapist and offer my unique perspective from working in all areas of the hospital for the last 16 years. Feel free to check out the forum categories and threads. This is a site dedicated to helping healthcare professionals improve their lives by encouraging self-care and healthy lifestyles.  Input is encouraged, discussion is welcome!
HEALTHCARE WORKERÂ BURNOUT
The Well Adjusted RT is a site designed to educate health care workers about healthy coping mechanisms to help manage the stressful environment of today's hospital setting. Burnout, compassion fatigue, and moral injury are becoming more common with the influx of Covid patients to hospitals across the country. The goal of this site is to help hospital workers who have been selflessly caring for others while ignoring their own well-being, find balance via self-care.
MENTAL HEALTH
"Caregivers are often so busy caring for others that they tend to neglect their own emotional, physical, and spiritual health. Studies confirm that caregivers play host to a high level of compassion fatigue" Smith (2017).
Patricia Smith talks about compassion fatigue and the path to wellness in the following TED talk.
How to Manage Compassion Fatigue in Caregiving: Patricia Smith: TEDxSanJuanIsland. (2017).
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Healthcare workers are experiencing high degrees of stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Acute stress reactions include headaches, insomnia, mood swings, and irritability. They may experience moral injury when they feel they are unable to do the right thing. (Walton et al., 2020) advises taking breaks, exercising, eating healthy, getting enough sleep, staying in contact with family and friends, and focusing on the positive.
Walton, M., Murray, E., & Christian, M. D. (2020, April 1). Mental health care for medical staff and affiliated healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. OUP Academic.
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https://doi.org/10.1177/2048872620922795.
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FINDING BALANCE
Finding a balance between work and the rest of your life is one way to help reduce stress. Allowing time for yourself, your family and friends will help keep work from taking over and making your life as a whole more stressful. Personal time is important, allow yourself to be present when you are off of work. Thinking about work when you aren't at work, doesn't allow you to have a break from work. The following article includes tips on reducing stress in order to maintain a work-life balance:
Five Tips to Reduce Stress and Maintain Work-Life Balance. Dignity Health. https://www.dignityhealth.org/articles/five-tips-to-reduce-stress-and-maintain-work-life-balance.
HEALTHY DIET
According to the following TEDx talks nutrition plays an important role in mental health and wellbeing.
How Your Belly Controls Your Brain
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PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Physical activity is a great way to manage stress. Jackson (2013) states that physical activity may improve the way the body manages stress due to hormone responses. Also taking the time to exercise will give you a break from your stressors.
​Jackson, E. M. STRESS RELIEF: The Role of Exercise in Stress Management : ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal. LWW. https://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/fulltext/2013/05000/stress_relief__the_role_of_exercise_in_stress.6.aspx.
GET IN TOUCH
Questions, comments, or suggestions? I I would love to hear from you, so feel free to reach out anytime.
