How Nurses Can Advocate for Themselves

With the shortage showing no signs of slowing down, it is important for healthcare providers (HCPs) to look after themselves. When you feel broken down and not taken care of, it may be time to advocate for yourself. What does self-advocacy entail? Why is it so important? Read on to learn more.

What is self-advocacy?

Self-advocacy does not necessarily mean outright dissent. According to understand.org, to self-advocate is to “speak up for yourself and your interests.” An example the website cites is mutual aid networks lobbying for more financial support to aid people who are developmentally challenged. Though the stakes and context are different, forms of self-advocacy exist in the healthcare workplace. HCPs may end up lobbying for better treatment from their employers. This can mean better compensation, training, treatment from your superiors and more.

Why does self-advocacy matter?

Healthcare work is uniquely demanding. Even in the best context, it can be physically and mentally challenging in unique ways. Every day, HCPs have to provide highly technical healthcare services to patients in need. When they are not administering medications or monitoring a patient’s condition, they are educating patients and patient families on the current treatment plans, or providing vital emotional counsel. This heavy workload has increased further by the pandemic, which had facilities working at full capacity while struggling for resources. It's no wonder why this period led to an increase in depression, anxiety, and mental distress among nurses.

This is compounded by the not-insignificant physical demand of healthcare work. HCPs spend hours upon hours on their feet, or carrying patients and heavy equipment from room to room. There is a reason why HCPs suffer a number of different musculoskeletal issues. Exposure to harmful viruses is also a persistent issue, especially if facilities do not adequately support their staff. Healthcare facilities around the world faced PPE shortages, which left HCPs vulnerable to COVID and other harmful infections. This also adds even more unwanted stress for nurses who are already working themselves to their limits.

 Proper policy, checks and balances, or better treatment does not make healthcare easy. It does, however, place HCPs in positions to succeed. If a nurse feels like they are being sufficiently protected and cared after by their employers, they have more motivation and energy to provide the best care possible to their patients. Less fatigue also means that costly medical errors are less common, which will save countless patient lives in the long term. Self-advocacy allows HCPs to lobby for better treatment, which can eventually lead to a better industry overall.

How can I advocate for myself?

Self-advocacy can be tricky to approach, especially if you are a newer HCP. Rookies are inherently less inclined to “make a scene,” so to speak. They are worried that self-advocacy will make them look entitled, and that their actions will ostracize them from the rest of their peers. They may also feel guilty for kicking up a fuss and disrupting a unit’s harmony.

This is a dangerous mindset to fall into. If you let yourself feel burned out, stressed, or vulnerable, your love and desire to work as an HCP will be put to its limits. Worst case scenario, you may even end up leaving your profession altogether. If you want to remain working as a successful HCP, you need to learn how to adequately and reasonably self-advocate for yourself. With these following tips, this should be no problem for you.

Know your worth

 To properly self advocate, you need to know what you bring to your unit in terms of skills and presence, as well as what you have achieved with the facility or in the healthcare industry in general. Be sure to keep track of any professional achievements you have accomplished, throughout the year. This gives your request a sense of weight and purpose. You want better treatment because that is what you deserve.

Build your support network

 Knowing who to talk to can make a huge difference. When you want to raise safety concerns, but you do not know how to approach things, leaning on a strong support network you can trust is irreplaceable. They can provide actionable advice on how to raise these issues, advocate for yourself and proceed from there. A good support network made from trusted colleagues, nurse educators, counselors and other members of the industry is an invaluable resource when it comes to advocating for yourself or even finding future job opportunities.

Invest in your development

Complacency breeds stagnation, especially in the world of healthcare. To ensure you stay valuable as an HCP (or increase in value), do not be afraid to invest in developing new skills. Taking a couple additional courses to earn certifications not only makes you more qualified for certain roles, it is also proof that you are not content with settling in place. You are a healthcare professional who is personally and financially invested in continuously growing your skills and knowledge, which is something that facilities continue to value a great deal.

Conclusion

Nurse advocacy may seem scary at first, but it is a natural part of the process. You have a lot of value to these facilities and the community at large, as a healthcare provider. By advocating for yourself, you are just making sure that you (and by extension, all nurses) are being given the treatment that you deserve. Done at the right times, nurse advocacy can take your career to new heights.