The Mindful Nurse: Using the Power of Mindfulness and Compassion to Help You Thrive in Your Work

by Carmel Sheridan

Nurses work in the foxhole of the healthcare battlefield. Their work is emotionally grueling and
physically draining. This easy-to-follow book offers a new skill set to cope with the challenges
of nursing and sustain compassion in the long term. Backed by scientific evidence, the book
teaches mindfulness and compassion practices to lessen stress, enhance relationships,
improve patient care, and reduce patient risk. With a new understanding of everyday mindfulness and compassion, nurses can overcome
the myriad contemporary challenges inherent in the workplace—and in their own lives.
This book will show you how to:
Nurture others without depleting yourself
Overcome compassion fatigue and burnout
Decrease frustration and job overwhelm
Reduce mistakes through managing attention
Respond rather than react to crises
Revive your love for your profession

374 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 8, 2016

About the author

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Reviews

[Carmel Finnerty]

"Medical Errors Are The Third Leading Cause of Death in the U.S" (According to the https://www.usnews.com/). If this book was mandatory reading for all members of the Medical Profession I would guarantee the rate of medical errors would be considerably less in the U.S in the years ahead. Brilliantly written by Carmel Sheridan with emphasis on Nurses who work under tremendous pressure, causing insurmountable difficulties in their workplace and home environment.

When in a highly responsible position such as the nursing profession it is vital to be taking care of your own needs first before you can be truly there in a compassionate, caring way for another individual and most especially the patient that is totally reliant on you for his/her healing.
If you ask a hundred women and men, why they choose to take up nursing the majority of answers given, are to help people that need help, to be compassionate caring and emphatic to those suffering. To help the hurting parents and help cure a sick child or be there in a loving way to help the dying pass peacefully. Some are so grateful to be gifted with a heart so full of love and compassion they thank God for the opportunity to be there physically, and emotionally for someone that is sick and in need of compassion, care, and kindness. That can include all patients they find themselves fortunate enough to be given the responsibility to care for.
It is very unfortunate when these people find themselves not living up to their dreams. Many good even excellent nurses leave the field of nursing completely for many good reasons. One is they are overworked and understaffed on a regular basis. Some are asked to do double shifts and multi-tasking becomes the norm when a nurse is overwhelmed with the countless tasks she must do day in and day out she cannot put emphasis on the real care of the patient. It is impossible to come from a place of compassion and the need to help and support an individual in the best way possible. when stressed on a regular basis overworked and their mind full of what needs to be taken care of next. Mindfulness is non-existent, and this can lead to errors some fatal. In this book, Carmel Sheridan brings us back to why we wanted to be nurses in the first place. Mindfulness "The ability to be fully present and attentive in the moment to still the mind and cultivate compassion" (Carmel Sheridan 29). I am fully convinced after reading and practicing mindfulness and compassion as the author states so clearly in this book, " The practices of mindfulness and compassion can rejuvenate the spirit and restore the nurse's ability to be wholehearted at work"(Carmel Sheridan page 21). This is after all the reasons given by most women and men when asked why they wanted to be in the nursing profession.

[Regine Garcia]

Every nurse and nursing student should read this book! I wish I was able to read this earlier. It's finally great to see that mindfulness is now being incorporated into nursing practice.

[Kate Soudant]

Having friends who are nurses and hearing about their daily work stresses and responsibilities, I was trying to think how to help them with their own self-care which in turn will enable them to care even better for their patients. I just happened upon this book while I was visiting a friend in Ireland and after read bits and pieces decided I had to buy the book and gift them with a copy.
Although specifically written with the nurse in mind and addressing their specific needs, it also spoke to me as an alternative health practitioner (I read the book in full before gifting, shh, don't tell) and believe it would benefit anyone working in a stressful environment.
This book is not only well-laid out, clear and easy to understand, but gives concrete examples of how nurses can develop ways to care for themselves - easily and simply. It also shows ways nurses can provide deeper quality care and compassion for their clients despite their heavy loads and responsibilities.
Nurses need as much acknowledgment and gratitude that we can give them for their important work. I think this book should be part of the curriculum of every nursing school.

[Hannah Jill]

Nursing is a challenging occupation yet a fulfilling one. We encounter a lot of difficulties whenever we attend to our patients needs, while carrying out doctors order and doing administrative work.
Reading this book reminded me of the funny, stressful and noteworthy experiences I had when I was still working as a clinical instructor. Coping with the difficulties I've been through is not as easy if I had read this book early on. Those who will be able to read this book are so lucky for they will have a guide to help them manage stressful situations and at the same time provide quality care to their patients.

The best take away I had is about the Mindful Presence. When I was still teaching in the academe, I always tell my students to make your patients feel that you are really there to take care of them and not merely to assist them in their needs. Those are two different things. Like what was mentioned in the book, "patients feel a genuine connection when you are devoting your complete attention in every interaction". This makes a lot of difference.

I hope more nurses and even those in the medical field read this book. It's worth your time and money! Carmel made sure the reader completely understands the message it delivers! Great work!

[Maria McMahon]

This is worthwhile book for anyone in the caring professions. It is jam packed with solid, sensible advice and everyday examples of situations that nursing professionals find themselves facing, and how / their jobs lead to extreme stress and burnout. Although not a nurse myself, I have a very good friend who is and I know from listening to her tales of woe that this book rings very true. I think that this book should be standard reading for all Nurses... it's excellent.

Maria McMahon
Author, Law of Attraction Shortcut Secrets

[Dave]

Easy to read and to the point. Helps with the balance of emotional and physical work. Helped me a lot. Highly recommended.

[Sohail]

Should be in the nursing curriculum whole or part of this

This is amazing book with great mindful techniques
I recommend to health care providers to go through this book at least once a year