When Stress Becomes Physical: My Wake-Up Call as a Nurse Leader
By: Bobbie Smith, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, ANLC-P, Synova Clinical Advisor
There’s something I don’t talk about often.
I have a heart condition — one that doesn’t always show on the outside, but it reminds me daily that stress isn’t just emotional… it’s physical. It’s real. And for many nurse leaders, it’s constant.
Back in 2021, I co-authored a white paper with Synova Associates called “Chronic Stress in Perinatal and Neonatal Nurse Leaders: Supporting Nurse Leaders of Today and the Future.”
There’s something I don’t talk about often.
I have a heart condition — one that doesn’t always show on the outside, but it reminds me daily that stress isn’t just emotional… it’s physical. It’s real. And for many nurse leaders, it’s constant.
Back in 2021, I co-authored a white paper with Synova Associates called “Chronic Stress in Perinatal and Neonatal Nurse Leaders: Supporting Nurse Leaders of Today and the Future.”
What we found was both validating and concerning — nurse leaders reported high levels of physical symptoms related to stress: headaches, palpitations, muscle tension, shortness of breath, and sleepless nights. We called it “chronic stress,” but for many, it’s simply the job as it exists today.
I wish I could say things have dramatically changed since 2021. But as I talk with nurse leaders across the country, I still hear the same themes that we give so much often to our own detriment.
We ignore the signs our bodies are giving us… until we can’t. My heart condition was discovered in May of 2020. Yep. That day I went into the ER and saw my friend the ER Director Sam Kaufman pushing the code cart with the paddles towards me. A vision I will never forget. As a labor nurse my biggest lesson learned here is that THEY DO NOT give you an epidural or put you asleep when they cardiovert you.
If I am honest, I have never prioritized my own health even after this traumatizing experience in the ER that led to a heart surgery.
I think as leaders we’re the first to make sure our kids, partners, and even our team members get to their appointments. But when it comes to our own health, we let it slide. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to fit in that doctor visit, that lab draw, that follow-up we’ve been putting off. (Have you scheduled your Mammogram?- a message I see in MyChart even time I open the app.)
Here I am in this picture at my new electrophysiologist waiting for my check-up knowing full well he is about to tell me exactly what I don’t want to hear. I need to wear a heart monitor. I don’t know why it is so hard to do the things I need to for my own health.
So my take-away is that for me, stress has literal consequences. When I don’t slow down, my heart tells me- loudly. And it’s made me realize that leading from a place of depletion isn’t sustainable — not for me, not for anyone.
To every nurse leader reading this: your health matters. Prioritizing our physical health is part of modeling what it means to be a healthy leader.
So today, maybe pause. Schedule that appointment. Take that deep breath. Prioritize yourself. Because you can’t pour from an empty cup… and only 17 days 8 hours and 49 minutes til I can take off this *&^% monitor that I am wearing because they told me I had too.
Here I am in this picture at my new electrophysiologist waiting for my check-up knowing full well he is about to tell me exactly what I don’t want to hear. I need to wear a heart monitor. I don’t know why it is so hard to do the things I need to for my own health.
So my take-away is that for me, stress has literal consequences. When I don’t slow down, my heart tells me- loudly. And it’s made me realize that leading from a place of depletion isn’t sustainable — not for me, not for anyone.
To every nurse leader reading this: your health matters. Prioritizing our physical health is part of modeling what it means to be a healthy leader.
So today, maybe pause. Schedule that appointment. Take that deep breath. Prioritize yourself. Because you can’t pour from an empty cup… and only 17 days 8 hours and 49 minutes til I can take off this *&^% monitor that I am wearing because they told me I had too.
The material presented in this blog represents the opinion of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of Synova Associates. Synova Associates does not endorse any specific products or organizations but strives to connect its industry partners with leaders interested in product/educational innovation.
