Posted on Oct. 31: Regional conference reminds nurses to take care

Classes, tests and presentations are a regular part of every student's life, but students training for medical professions including nursing encounter the additional responsibility of working clinical shifts that expose them to workplace stress, physical fatigue and illness.

Starting today, more than 100 Ontario nursing students are meeting at McMaster for a three-day conference that's focused on wellness tips to help keep them healthy before launching careers in an already overworked and understaffed profession.

“Nurses face some workplace hazards that are unique to the profession, including back injuries from constantly lifting patients,” says Sandra Woltman, third-year nursing student who's co-ordinating the conference with fourth-year student Kristina Kolodziej.

Woltman also points out that “needle pricks”  occurring when a used needle penetrates a nurses' skin while it's being handled  are among the common hazards that put nurses more at risk of viruses and infectious diseases. And with the health care system facing significant nurse shortages  only about three nurses for every 500 Ontarians  nurses already have some of the highest absentee rates from work as a result of illness and injury.

The conference will tackle tips for avoiding those common workplace hazards, but speakers will also touch heavily on coping techniques, which is a particularly important issue for nurses and nursing students because confidentiality agreements often require them to handle particularly trying situations without the support of family and friends.

“Nursing students combine the stress of school with the turmoil of dealing with dying children and adults during our clinical shifts, and that takes a toll on emotional health, especially in the beginning,” says Kolodziej.

Art therapy, humour, self-massage and reflexology include some of the techniques to be discussed throughout Saturday.

With more than half of Canada's nurses currently between age 40 and 65, Kolodziej says the profession is facing a large turnover within the next few years. But that also means valuable health-care experience and wisdom could go unshared as an increasing number of young nurses staff wards.

“The speakers at this conference are very supportive of us and it's great to have an opportunity to listen to their stories and learn from their experiences,” says Kolodziej.

The conference wraps up with a career fair on Sunday. For more information about the Canadian Nursing Students' Association or the Ontario regional conference visit www.cnsa.ca.