How many times in your career as a nurse have you heard the word burnout?
I know. As a nurse you talk about it constantly with other nurses, acknowledge its unwelcome presence. Sometimes are given a “Free Massage” day to distract you. Make sure you sign up during your 12-hour shift!
Don’t get me wrong, those moments of respite can be great little treats in your day.
But as nurses you are so use to stress at levels that most people can’t even imagine that you may not even be aware at how it is affecting you, until – you do.
Allow me to paint a familiar picture…
- Call lights ringing, your patient needs to use the bathroom but they are tethered to an IV pole that needs to be disconnected.
- They are schizophrenic
- They also need their blood sugar checked before each meal and guess what, the aide just told you that they already ate!
- Also, they have a nasty infection and they are under contact precautions, so you can’t go in the room until you put on the fabulous yellow gown, gloves and mask up.
And thats just one of your patients! What about the other 4??
So, day in day out, year after year, how are you doing?
Where are You on the Burnout Scale?
For nurses who care for other people’s health, you rarely pay attention to your own wellbeing. I think it is incredibly important to stop and take a real assessment of your physical and mental health.
I’ve unfortunately seen in my career nurses who unexpectedly hit the end of their tether and walked off the job, I bet you have too.
For me, I noticed a lot of irritation on and off the job. At work, everything is a fire that needs to put out, leaving me with little to no coping skills at home. My husband would ask after a 4 day week, oh you have tomorrow off right? I invited my mother over for dinner.
Insert visual of Godzilla breathing fire while smashing fistfuls of cars. Not exactly, “of course honey I’d love to see her”.
The coping skill of choice with most health care workers is that glass of wine or three to help decompress the day, not exactly the healthiest choice.
So, before you go reaching for the Chardonnay, where are you on the scale of burnout? 1 being not at all, I’m the buddha and 5 being, Nurse Rached in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?
If it’s 4 or 5, maybe it’s time to consider a change.
You may be…
- Feeling you have no more energy to even do the things you enjoy.
- Worrying about all the things that didn’t get done during your shift.
- The weight of the unfair healthcare system on your patients.
If you are feeling overwhelmed and joyless in your current job as a nurse, you CAN shift into a different role or career.
What Would Happen If Nurses Put Their Health First?
I’m a caregiver, I don’t want to let people down, I want to help people and have them feel cared for but I found I was ALWAYS giving. And being asked to do more and more, I noticed I was on auto pilot and starting to treat patients like another task to complete. I wasn’t feeling compassionate anymore.
I knew I could not sustain this routine. I wasn’t being of service in the way I wanted.
I was doing the right things, exercising, eating well, crafting and then…
I had a wake-up call when after 10 years of solid service, my yearly review was again, mediocre due to the company’s allocation of funding parameters. I HAD HAD IT.
So, I decide I needed to take charge of my wellbeing and that meant taking a hard look at what I wanted to do with my life in my Next Chapter. I didn’t want to totally give up health care but this time, it had to work for ME.
You have so many skills that you learned as a nurse, that you probably have taken for granted.
As a communicator, how many family members have you consoled over your career?
As an educator, how many times have you taught your patients important things.
As an advocate, how many times have you fought for your patients.
These skills are essential and highly valued, not everyone has them but you do!
Move yourself into a career that makes you feel inspired and excited again.
Your liver will thank you!!
I hope this episode brought you some joy!
Hang in there!