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5 Easy Ways to Avoid Burnout
Featured Author:
Kathy Quan, RN, BSN, PHN
Kathy Quan, RN, BSN, PHN, has over 30 years of experience in home health and hospice care. Teaching patients, caregivers, and other nurses has always been a passion of hers. She also loves to write and has several websites and blogs for nurses, caregivers, and patients. Kathy has also authored four books about nursing, the health care field and caring for aging parents.
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Kathy Quan
November 10, 2010
Nursing is often a thankless job. Part of the reason for this is that nurses spend only a short time with patients during a spell of illness. For example, either they are discharged from the hospital before they are “well”, or discharged from home health care because they are independent in their own care, and again not yet completely “well.” Unlike someone who designs a terrific product and sees how it helps others and reaps the financial rewards. Nurses have to find their own rewards.
We don’t always have an opportunity to reap the rewards of seeing our efforts through to a successful outcome. As a result, nurses often loose faith, become frustrated due to the huge physical and emotional demands of the job and burn out.
Outcome Based Care Standards
As the trend towards outcome based care standards continues however, nurses will see that the little time they spend with a patient can and most often does have a positive outcome from their own perspective. Perhaps this will help.
Nursing is a physically challenging job. As an example, hospital nurses are on their feet 8 to 12 hours and may not even get a break to go to the bathroom without feeling guilty. Many times nurses don’t often get meal breaks and have to gulp down a snack in 30 seconds. Patients often need a lot of physical assistance from nurses to move in bed, or to get up to a chair, to the bathroom or to walk in the hallway.
The emotional challenges to nurses are also huge. From dealing with issues of death and dying, to helping patients and family members cope with life changing diagnoses.
Are You At Risk for Burnout?
The shortage of nurses places a strain on all nurses. There is always a steady stream of slack to take up and if someone calls in sick or takes time off, the burden becomes even greater.
Burnout
Burnout is one of the biggest forces in the nursing shortage crisis. Too many times nurses burn out and leave the profession. Finding ways to prevent this is vital to retaining the workforce as long as possible.
