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Battling Burnout in Nursing
Megan Malugani | Monster Contributing Writer
Stomp Out Burnout
People at risk for burnout can take action to avoid it, experts say. Here are some of their suggestions for avoiding work-related burnout:
• Bond with Colleagues: Reaching out to colleagues and discussing difficult situations can help to reduce stress, Pfifferling says. Traditionally, he contends, there has been a lack of positive feedback among health professionals, which fuels isolation and burnout.
• Talk It Out – and Let Others, Too: A friend, colleague, counselor or career coach can help a person beat burnout just by listening. “Working with someone can help you clarify your vision and what motivates you,” and help you come to terms with the clash between your expectations and the reality of your job, Pfifferling says. Employers should also play a role in fostering a more supportive working environment, he says. “Organizations should look at provider satisfaction with an attitude that if someone is complaining, it’s not that they’re a complainer, but that something needs to be fixed,” he says.
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• Don’t Lose Sight of the Forest for the Trees: The most important step people can take to prevent burnout is to constantly evaluate their life priorities and keep them in mind, Ewing says. She asks her clients to think about the different areas of their lives – family, career, hobbies and religion – like pieces of a pie. She has them divide the pie in two: how their life is actually sliced and how they’d like it to be sliced. Burnout is preventable in the long term if you tailor your day-to-day activities to reflect how you’d like your pie sliced.
Checklist: Are You Burned Out?
Because of the intensity of their work and their emotional investment in patients, healthcare professionals suffer a high rate of burnout. Although anyone can suffer from burnout, there are certain personality traits that put a person at risk, says Ewing. She and other experts say people are most at risk of burnout if they:
• Don’t know how to say “no” to demands on their time and energy.
• Assume added responsibility when they are already working at capacity.
• Consistently sacrifice their personal lives for work.
• Lack control in their positions.
• Regularly suppress their emotions.
• Don’t discuss their problems or feelings.
• Routinely criticize themselves.
• Haven’t learned how to manage stress effectively.
Read the original article Battling Burnout in Healthcare on Monster.com.
kford
3 months ago
2 comments
good article
CaroleBB
about 2 years ago
2 comments
Alwaysanurse1, I couldn't have said it any better.
Alwaysanurse1
almost 3 years ago
20 comments
I take good care of myself but over time, there has been a distinct cultural shift in the hospital at which I had been employed for over 15 years. There's never any praise, only criticism or "write-ups" if your supervisor thinks that you did something wrong. Hardly ever are you given the benefit of the doubt for being the professional you are and having proved that over time. Rather, it appears that the older, experienced nurse is targeted as being a "trouble-maker" because we simply say how it really is. We remember the former days and how we could use our critical thinking skills and be patient advocates like we were taught in nursing school and that made us good nurses. Today that means that you are not conforming to management's agenda and therefore you no longer fit in and should leave or be terminated. I swear that they are trying to turn nurses into mindless robots. They have us "scripting," and spending more time with the computer than with the patient. It appears that management is trying to run the hospital as if it is some assembly-line job with standardized times and products. But that model just does not work in patient care, but they don't want to hear it. I'm so frustrated--I'm glad to be out of it for now and doing home health care. It is so much more rewarding. I can still use my brain and be commended for it by the patients and the Agency.
Onedayatatime
over 4 years ago
6 comments
Been nurse for a long while, what I've been doing is exercise regularly (at least 3x/week) to nurture myself . Discovered walking,hiking and be with nature to remind and refreshen my senses - long shift hours makes me feel burned out. We as nurses got to learn how to take care of our own being , to be more therapeutic in taking care of our patients. Life's too short and unpredictable.
bourdony
over 4 years ago
68 comments
i know i am burnt out. i use to enjoy going to work. it made me happy. now every day more responsibility and demands are made . more paperwork more reports and no staffing changes i am working in a clinic that services over 2000 students from 6th grade to 12th. one lpn one nurse practioner one registrar one social worker its a full functioning service clinic. we cant even take a break many times. we have addressed the issues but honestly no one is really listening. we all are having serious medical problems of our own on top of the work load. i have seriouly started to look for new job prospects its really sad that the health field has gotten so complex. there are no easy solutions. bourdony
emtpixie
over 4 years ago
328 comments
I agree with 4426...you HAVE to keep learning and change the scenery every once in a while. Bottom line...when you're feeling stressed DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!! Otherwise it'll eat you alive and make you miserable. Been there, done that, got MANY t-shirts, lol!
4426
over 4 years ago
62 comments
Burnout can happen in any career. I've suffered from burnout several times in my career. The best thing I've found to keep burnout out of my life is to keep learning......keep settting goals for one's self and career----try to avoid from having things becoming routine! When you feel burnout coming on, if possible have a supervisor move you to a different assignment. Sometimes a change of scenery can spark what made you want to originally get into your career field. Burnout will occur, so when it does, deal with it so it doesn't ruin you!