Self-Care Academy
formerly NurseFit

As our company has evolved to include more participants than nurses, we have changed our name from NurseFit to Self-Care Academy. We understand that each employee contributes to quality patient care by managing their own self-care. We are now delighted to offer our on-site program to all who wish to participate.

From Across the Pond

I am honored to announce that Self-Care Academy was invited to the UK this month for a week of collaboration, education and application surrounding the importance of Self-Care. Working with Susan Wessel, of Creative Healthcare Management, creators of Relationship Based Care (RBC), our group quickly connected and examined a common thread of truth for all caregivers…

sustainable “care for self” must be the foundation we support before offering our compassion and care to our colleagues, loved ones and patients.

Healing ourselves is directly connected to healing others. As we spent the week defining “self-care” and learning sustainable applications we can implement into our daily lives, we found ourselves mastering techniques to reduce stress, improve resilience and refill our own reservoirs. I am grateful to have participated in such an inspirational week and look forward to continuing to build on the relationships developed!

Listen to one of the participants’ thoughts on self-care.

What Self-Care Is To Me
Lynn Smith, Self-Care Academy Participant (UK)

Kim Richards really made me think about how much time I spend caring for myself. It seems to me that most people, women in particular, spend a great part of their lives caring for others – children, partners, parents and friends and we carry this into the workplace whether or not we are in a “caring “ profession or not. It just comes natural to us to put other people’s needs first.

Listening to Kim explain the science behind “self-care”, I realized that it was time for me to change the way I operate by introducing more applications of self-care into my life. It makes sense on so many levels – if I want to be effective then it is mandatory to care for myself first. As Kim said, “If I don’t do it, who will?” This truth really resonated with me. Also, it is essential if I want to continue caring for others who depend on me.

So how do I do it? I’ll be using many of the ideas and techniques Self-Care Academy introduced:

• deep breathing exercises to calm me
• regular use of yoga, and
• pilates exercises.

I go to the gym three times a week and take a massage once a month. But to be honest, the biggest impact Kim made on me was in helping me to acknowledge that I really need to change the way I think about self-care and incorporate some element of it into every single day.

My negative self talk is self sabotaging and Kim taught me how to transition and reduce the “monkey mind chatter”. I realized that although I am often very busy I am not always productive and this makes me stressed! I need to change my mindset about organizing my day and stop the headless chicken syndrome!

What does this have to do with self-care? Well, for me it about taking time to value myself and my time, and I do this by planning my day so I can stay focused and not be distracted. This is essential if I am to be at my most effective. I am self-employed – if I don’t do it - it just doesn’t get done! So I sit down every night and plan the next day, I write my list and I make sure I incorporate elements of self-care throughout the day – I actually timetable

• go to the gym
• sit quietly with a book for 10 minutes
• deep breathing 5 minutes,
• phone a friend, and so on
• ... and its working!

I’m into my second week and already I am feeling more in control, motivated and on top of things -- this helps me to stay calm and be less stressed. I’m really impressed because I know from experience that I often mean well but fall at the first hurdle. The experience of learning what self-care is and implementing it into my life has really worked!

Thanks Kim!

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Upcoming Events

2010 ACNL Annual Conference
February 7-10,  2010 | Rancho Mirage, CA
Visit us at Booth #513

Please visit us to learn more about how your facility can benefit from a sustainable on-site, self-care, stress reduction program for your employees!

Transformational Results!
Download Flyer

Also, Kim Richards will be leading a yoga/meditation class on the conference site on Tuesday, February 9th at 6:30 AM. Please join us!

Enter Raffle to Win...
Visit the Self-Care Academy booth (#513) during the 2010 ACNL Annual Conference and enter our raffle to win a Caring for the Caregiver Workshop! This workshop consists of stress-reduction techniques and yoga which will provide you with a sampling of the year-long program.

Join us for a book signing with Terri Moss,
Moss Communications.

Healing with Heart: Inspirations for Health Care Professionals. WINNER: American Journal of Nursing 2008 Book of the Year Award

Keynote Speaker
MeritCare Nursing Symposium
North Dakota Nurses Association
May 6-7, 2010 | Fargo, ND

Panel Facilitator
Work / Life Balance Panel
"Caring for the Caregiver. How About Me?"
AWHONN National Convention
June 12-16, 2010 | Nashville, TN

New Book Release!

Kim Richards co-authored 2 chapters in the new release of 101 Global Leadership Lessons for Nurses: Shared Legacies from Leaders and their Mentors

The chapters include:

~ Self Recovery and Renewal

~ Jobless and Searching

Richards, K, Campbell, J, Flaherty, K (2009). Self Recovery and Renewal and Jobless and Searching. 101 Global Leadership Lessons for Nurses: Shared Legacies from Leaders and their Mentors, ed. Nancy Rollins Gantz. Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International.

Find out more about the book and order yours today!

Invite Kim to Speak!

Invite Kim to speak at your next event!

If you need a motivating, thought-provoking, inspiring, passionate and humorous presentation on “Caring for the Caregiver. How About Me?” for your next event or conference, contact Kim today and find out what she can deliver for you!

Contact Kim today!