What is the secret to living a healthy, happy life? This is the ultimate question many patients have asked me as their family nurse practitioner, whether directly, or circuitously. Nurses are the ideal professionals to answer this question and to provide support patients need on their journeys toward holistic wellness.

Years of clinical experience, research, and trial & error led me to create my simple Rx of 5 healthy habits. The challenge with these habits is developing the discipline with intentional action to make living well and happiness a reality.

• Eat a healthy, plant-based diet (maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding smoking, drugs, and alcohol)
• Exercise regularly – cardiovascular, weight training, and stretching
• Manage your mental health – minimize stress, be mindful of how you talk (to
  yourself and others) and spend time with your family/friends/serving your
  community
• Practice your faith, faithfully with gratitude
• Do valuable work to you – this doesn’t necessarily mean a paid “job”. But the
  work engaged in is significant to you.

Equipped with these 5 habits and your nursing skills, you have the solutions to assist patients to put lifestyle changes into practice. But how?

Start where your patients are. Allow them to decide what areas of their lives they want to change and what specific behaviors/actions to take. Nurses make a fundamental difference in patient outcomes because of their invaluable supportive care, professional health knowledge, and feedback is key to transforming ideas into successful lifestyles. The self-selected behavior changes become lifelong habits when patients take the initiative, set clear goals, and create a flexible plan with nursing support.

Additionally, requiring patients to write down their goals including their specific behaviors designed to achieve their goals is another key to forming successful habits. A simple list of weekly goals in a notebook or journal with end dates will work for those less likely to maintain detailed logs/journals. Nurses are experts at writing and implementing care plans; your professional work in the change process is the linchpin to success. Writing down plans is critical for accountability and resetting goals once achieved, or not.

I became an FNP to help people: to heal their ailments, treat their chronic conditions, and lead patients to a higher quality of life. After many years of working in healthcare in a wide variety of settings and diverse populations, I am confident that following these 5 habits will lead many individuals to a healthier and happier life.

Bio‐ Wendi Lelke-Wallway, RN, MSN, PHN, FNP-C

Wendi Lelke-Wallway, RN, PHN, MSN, FNP-C earned her MSN-FNP degree from Samuel Merritt College, Oakland in 2006. Prior to that, she earned two undergraduate science degrees from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She has worked in healthcare for nearly 20 years in a variety of roles and clinical settings throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Wendi enjoys reading, gardening, equestrian sports, spending time outdoors, exercising, and modeling a healthy, balanced lifestyle.