Nursing A Concept analysis

A Concept Analysis on Self-Care for Nurses

Brittany Thambounaris

Wagner College

A Concept Analysis on Self-Care for Nurses

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of self-care in nurses who are

working in understaffed, inpatient settings. Making self-care a priority for nurses is something

that has always been a struggle and has progressed within the last few years since short staffing

has become more prominent due to certain circumstances. Nurses in inpatient healthcare settings

are constantly challenged due to staffing shortages. Factors that contribute to neglecting one’s

self-care are fatigue, burnout, and stress. Nurses are always told to practice patient safety, follow

policies, and documentation precision while patient ratios are often over what truly is “safe”. As

a result, nurses are busy taking care of others that they forget to prioritize themselves and take

care of their own mind and body in the process. This paper will explore the impact and meaning

of the concept of self-care, defining attributes, antecedents, consequences, and relevance in

nursing practice by exploring nursing theory derived by Martha Rogers. Adding a bit of

documentation for your statements will go a long way to supporting your statements.

Definition of Concept

The definition of self-care can be very broad. To define self-care appropriately it is

necessary to break the concept down and define what “self” and “care” mean in their own

entities. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, defining the word “self” means the union

of elements such as body, emotions, thoughts, and sensations, that make up the individuality and

identity of a person (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word

“care” as the effort to do something correctly, safely, or without causing damage. It also can be

defined as things that are done to keep someone healthy and safe (Merriam-Webster, n.d.).

Caring for others is a motivating factor for most who join the nursing profession. When

becoming a nurse, one is aware of what is expected of them and that is delivering quality patient

care in a safe manner. In single entities, these words may not hold such meaning, but together

they resemble a standard to which nurses should practice on themselves. 

When putting together the concept of “self-care” it seems so simple, right? How hard is it to

provide ourselves with the same care we provide to others? It’s one of the hardest concepts to

grasp as a working nurse. We are trained to put others before ourselves, treat all patients equal,

miss holidays with loved ones to save the loved ones of others, work through no break or have a

moment to sit, and often take the work home emotionally. Of all the things we must accomplish,

the last thing on our list is taking care of ourselves and our own mental health. By neglecting the

most important aspect of one’s “self”, you are neglecting your own emotions, thoughts,

sensations, and needs that can negatively influence how you present to others. In an article

written by the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center for their project titled, “StopTheHurt”, the author

defines self-care as doing things to take care of the mind, body, and soul by engaging in

activities that promote well-being and reduce stress. (I really like this statement! I had to look it

up and read about it… Thank you!) She mentions how in taking care of oneself, the ability to

live fully, vibrantly, and effectively is further enhanced (Langston, n.d.). By practicing self-care

activities physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, we are reminding ourselves and

others that our own needs are a priority. 

Defining Attributes

Attributes are labeled as characteristics that are repeatedly found in literature that help to

further define a concept. Regarding self-care, there are many attributes that define this concept

for nurses working in inpatient healthcare settings. Activities that are mental, physical, and

spiritual, internal awareness, capability of maintaining universal needs and goals, and self-

reliance and control are widely discussed attributes when researching about self-care. In an

concept of self-care and three notable attributes- awareness, self-control, and self-reliance

(Martinez et al., 2021). The authors discuss how an individual’s awareness helps to liberate the

person to motivate themselves to make a change. Having self-control means having the power

over your own emotions and control over your own behaviors which are a motivating attribute

for the concept of self-care. The authors further discuss the attribute of self-reliance and its

influence on self-care by noting that individuals must maintain self-reliance to successfully

perform self-care (Martinez et al., 2021). Self-reliance mimics the person’s own resilience and

diligence. 

Furthermore, activities and capabilities are additional attributes that have been found to

occur for the concept of self-care to exist. Activities that are mental, physical, and spiritual are

learned and performed daily when practicing self-care. In an article written in the Journal of

Nursing Scholarship, the author identifies the importance of activities and capabilities as

attributes of self-care. As a capability, the author digresses that self-care is an action that is

directed toward the individuals’ needs and goals and the activities are those that are performed to

start the self-care process (Matarese et al., 2018). All of these defining attributes are imperative

to understanding how the concept of self-care has formed and changed throughout the years.

Model Case

“Emma, a seasoned Registered Nurse in the labor and delivery unit has been working in

the field that she has loved for the last four years. Since starting her career, conditions and how

the unit functions have changed drastically. When she first started, she remembered everyone

saying how uncommon it was for a new nurse to be placed in a specialty unit with no prior

experience. She also remembered the other nurses telling her how hard it was to get a position

there because it was a rarity that any nurses were to leave once they accepted the position. Since

she started four years ago, she worked through a pandemic and became a stronger nurse because

of it. However, Emma started to notice that everything seemed much different now. Nurses were

leaving left and right, and she was being forced to work with short staffing almost every shift.

She stopped getting any break time and was leaving work more and more exhausted. Emma

started to notice that she was losing her compassion toward her patient care. She was being rude

to others in her personal life and any free time she had was spent sleeping or doing homework

for her graduate studies. Emma never had issues with her mental health before, but she started to

realize that this was not okay and not how she should feel. This job was beginning to take a toll

on her. She was slowly seeing that she was neglecting her body’s basic needs. She stopped eating

healthy and going for runs, she stopped hanging out with friends even when they tried hard to get

her out, and her relationship with her boyfriend seemed to be adding more stress to her already

chaotic life. One day, Emma received an email for a Reiki training that was going to be taking

place on campus. Emma thought that this was exactly what she needed and what would be

perfect for her mental health. She joined the training and after eight hours in one of the most

calming environments she had been in, she left feeling the best she had felt in months. She felt

energy. After leaving the training, Emma soon realized just how much she was neglecting her

self-care and promised herself that she would spend at least a few moments everyday dedicated

to fueling her own needs and making herself a priority. She practiced Reiki on herself a few

minutes every day and started to notice changes in her work ethic, overall mood, relationships,

and stress level.” 

Within this model case, there are antecedents and consequences outlined. Antecedents are

events or incidents that must happen before the concept. In this case, internal and external factors

serve as the antecedents. Internal and external factors such as a nurturing environment, social

support from friends and family, eating healthy and exercising, and getting adequate rest are just

a few examples. In an article written in the International Journal of Nursing Studies, the author

mentions that nurses’ self-care and quality of patient care go hand in hand. He further discusses

shortage on the nurses’ mental health is directly influenced and preceded by intrinsic and

extrinsic factors (Mills et al., 2015). In this model case, Emma also displayed attributes of self-

care by showing her self-control and taking her power back after going to her Reiki training. She

became self-aware and realized that her own self-care was in jeopardy which led her to make the

necessary changes needed.

Consequences are defined as positive events or outcomes that occur due to proper

functioning within the concept. As a result of Emma taking acknowledgment of her lack of self-

care, she was able to enhance her work-life relationship as well as become in tune with her needs

and prioritization of herself and her mental health. Emma developed an improved sense of

control as well as a deepening sense of being by coming more in touch with her mind and body.

She was also able to cope with stress more effectively and started to take the time to foster the

relationships with her loved ones. Self-care is not selfish, it is essential and as a result, it

correlates to better outcomes and quality of life. 

Empirical Relevance

The family health model that relates to the concept of self-care is that of Martha Rogers

theory called the “Science of Unitary Human Beings”. Her theory is very complex but when

focusing on aspects of the theory that correlate to self-care, the environment and energy fields is

what comes to light. Rogers saw individuals as being interconnected with the environment as

well as each other and that interpersonal interactions could both subconsciously and consciously

affect each other’s behavior, feelings, and overall health. By using Reiki in the model case as an

example of a self-care practice, the body’s energy systems (chakras/aura) work together to help

those interconnect with their body systems. Reiki helps to unblock the clogged energy fields

related to stress and sadness and in turn, promotes self-care. Mary Gunther, in her chapter written

in Nursing Theorists and Their Work, discusses how Rogers’ theory gives an optimistic view of

man’s potentials as well as enhances the quality of life of individuals (Gunther, 2021).

Furthermore, in her book, An introduction to the theoretical basis of nursing (1970), Rogers

identifies five core assumptions that relate man to their environment and energy fields. She

mentions that an individual is characterized by imagery, language, thought, sensation, and

emotion and that an individual and the environment are exchanging matter and energy with one

another. 

In examining this family health model of Rogers, Rogers developed patterns of the

human being and their energy fields. Her theory further proves how self-care and an individual’s

environment, and energy fields directly impact their skills in patient care (Rogers, 1970). She

believed that interactions are continuous and mutual between the environment and the individual.

Everything shifts and changes because of each interaction. She labeled this ideology as

synchrony (Rogers, 1970). For instance, have you ever been in a great mood and then engage in

a conversation with someone angry who is complaining about how terrible their life is? This

interaction has the potential to take you away from your happy place and into a negative space.

As a result of this, Roger’s theory aims to prove how neglecting one’s self-care has a direct

influence that effects not only an individual’s relationship with themselves but with others in

their environment as well. The concept of self-care and Roger’s theory help to enforce that the

relationship you have with yourself will forever be the most important one. It is one relationship

that should be nurtured daily. The relationship you have with yourself will also be the most

complicated because you can’t walk away from you- you need to endure the turmoil and

celebrate the triumphs. You must deal with every imperfection and find a way to love every part

of what makes you who you are.  

Bibliography

Gunther, M. E. (2021). Martha E. Rogers: unitary human beings.  Nursing theorists and their 

work (10th ed., pp.183-194). Elsevier. 

Langston, B., (n.d.). Making Self-Care a Priority. StopTheHurt A Project of HCWC. 

https://stopthehurt.org/making-self-care-a-priority/ .

Martinez, N., Connelly, C., Perez, A., Calero, P., (2021). Self-care: A concept analysis.  

 

International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 8(4): 418-425. 

http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2021.08.007

Matarese, M., Lommi, M., De Marinis, M.G., & Riegel, B. (2018). A Systematic Review and 

Integration of Concept Analyses of Self-Care and Related Concepts. Journal of Nursing 

Scholarship, 50 (3), 296-305. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12385

Merriam-Webster. (n.d. -a) Care. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved from

http://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/care.

Merriam-Webster. (n.d. -a) Self. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved from 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self.

Mills, J., Wand, T., Fraser, J., (2015). On self-compassion and self-care in nursing: Selfish or 

essential for compassionate care? International Journal of Nursing Studies, 52(4), 791-

793. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2014.10.009

Rogers. M.E. (1970). An introduction to the theoretical basis of nursing. Philadelphia: F.A. 

Davis.

 

Appendix A

Figure 1: Martha Rogers’ Theory: Science of Unitary Human Beings. Retrieved from

https://cmapsconverted.ihmc.us/rid=1221614164849_213122046_8214/martha%20rogers.cmap

Can’t tell you how much I enjoyed reading your paper!! Not only is it well written, but hits home again and again. I think everyone should read your paper. In fact, how would you feel if I sent it to everyone in the class and offered it to students as an example of not only an example of a CA but some words of wisdom for all of us? Please let me know what you think??