Gratitude Practice for Nurses
SUPPORTING WELL-BEING AND BUILDING A CULTURE OF GRATITUDE IN NURSING
As members of one of the largest and most trusted health care professions, nurses like you serve a critical role in supporting the health of our nation. Yet your very role as caregivers and healers often places you in highly stressful situations. More than two-thirds of you report putting the health, safety, and wellness of your patients ahead of your own.
To support you in caring for your own health and well-being, the American Nurses Foundation and the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, have joined forces to create Gratitude Practice for Nurses. This campaign draws on decades of research showing that practicing gratitude is good for our bodies, our minds, and our relationships—and is a valuable tool to respond to the stresses faced by nurses and other health professionals. We want to help you cultivate more gratitude in your life and in your workday so that you can experience its benefits—and build a culture of gratitude and appreciation among your colleagues.
Get Started
Follow these steps to bring the benefits of gratitude into your life and work.
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Join the Thnx4Nurses Gratitude Challenge
Experience the power of gratitude journaling by joining a Gratitude Challenge on Thnx4.org, the Greater Good Science Center’s online, shareable gratitude journal.
Registration is now open for the next Thnx4Nurses group challenge.
Deadline to register is December 11!
Visit THNX4.org -
Download the Toolkit
The Gratitude Practice for Nurses Toolkit helps nurses and nurse managers deepen their understanding and practice of gratitude. Download this resource to explore a series of research-based activities that you can try on your own or with colleagues—along with a slide presentation, poster, and other resources that make the case for the benefits of gratitude.
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Complete the Gratitude Practice for Nurses Survey
After you download the Toolkit, check your email for a very brief survey. Your honest responses will enhance our work—and make you eligible for a $100 gift card!
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Join Our Community of Practice
Receive additional support in applying the science of gratitude to your work. Facilitated by the Greater Good Science Center, this community will connect you with peers who want to go deeper in fostering gratitude for and among nurses in their organization.
Please note: The application period for the Community of Practice is now closed.
Learn More
What makes practicing gratitude so helpful to our health and well-being? How can practicing gratitude benefit nurses in their daily lives? What are some ways they can weave gratitude into their work? Check out the resources below--we'll be adding more in the months ahead.
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. ... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events."
About This Initiative
The Gratitude Practice for Nurses initiative is a joint effort of the American Nurses Foundation and the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, aimed at cultivating the practice of gratitude within the nursing profession. Decades of research have shown that practicing gratitude is highly effective in promoting physical and psychological health, both at the individual and organizational levels. Our hope through this initiative is that nurses and other health care providers will gain a deeper understanding of the value of practicing gratitude and find the tools and resources to nurture that practice in their own lives and in the settings in which they work.
American Nurses Foundation
The American Nurses Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Nurses Association, is committed to our vision of achieving ‘a healthy world through the power of nursing.’ In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation and our partners created the Well-Being Initiative to support the emotional and mental health and well-being of nurses today and into the future.
Learn more about our Well-Being Initiative which offers additional tools and resources to support your emotional and mental well-being.
To connect with nurses across the country dedicated to transforming their health, join Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation, a social movement of nurses supporting physical activity, nutrition, rest, quality of life, and safety.
Greater Good Science Center
The Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) at the University of California, Berkeley, studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being, and teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society. The Center is unique in its commitment to both science and practice: It translates cutting-edge research on “the science of a meaningful life” into actionable resources for personal and professional well-being.
And it has been without peer in disseminating this research to the public, especially to educators, parents, and health professionals.
To learn more about the GGSC’s work on gratitude and explore other topics, visit its award-winning online magazine, Greater Good.
Feedback
We welcome your questions, comments, and feedback about the Gratitude Practice for Nurses initiative.
For questions about the Toolkit and other resources tied to this initiative, please email the Greater Good Science Center at greater@berkeley.edu.
For questions about the Well-Being Initiative and other tools and resources to support nurses, please email the American Nurses Foundation at wellbeing@ana.org.
Special Thanks
We are especially grateful for the support of the Gratitude Practice for Nurses Advisory Group whose members include nurses and nurse managers from a variety of health care organizations and settings across the country. The Advisory Group’s insights and direct experience in the nursing field were immensely helpful to the design and development of the Gratitude Practice for Nurses initiative.
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Marian Altman, PhD, RN, CNS-BC, CCRN-K
Clinical Practice Specialist
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Umma Amina, BSN, RN
High-Risk Labor & Delivery
Kaiser Permanente
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Frances Akubuilo, DNP, RN, AHN-BC
Nurse Director
GFK Home Health Care
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Mendy Blair, DNP, RN-BC, NE-BC, CENP
Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer
Baptist Health Richmond
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Laurie Combe, MN, RN, NCSN
2019-2021 President
National Association of School Nurses
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Perry Gee, PhD, RN
Nurse Scientist
Intermountain Healthcare
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Mike Hastings, MSN, RN, CEN
2020 President
Emergency Nurses Association
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Sherry Kassenbrock, BSN, RN, PHN
Credentialed School Nurse
Oakland Unified School District
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Lesly Kelly, PhD, RN, FAAN
Nurse Scientist
CommonSpirit Health
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Marla J. Weston, PHD, RN, FAAN
CEO
Weston Consulting LLC