Nursing Burnout

[mollymoocow]

I have observed nursing burnout in several of the hospitals I have been in. What do you feel in the number one cause of nurse burn out and what suggestions do you have for a new nurse to avoid this situation?

[newwavegirl89]

u took the words ri:crying2:ght out of my mouth!

[newwavegirl89]

Exactly.Too many pts per nurse,short staffing,poor management,lack of support etc etc

totally right on

[IVPICC]

I can so relate to alot of the comments here. The high turnover and shortage of nurses is taking its toll on my department. I just did 5, 12 hour shifts in a row. Exhausted! And burned out. I was tempted to leave the profession years ago. My family was shocked. They have NO idea what its like. Still working through it. Found a few books and sites that I'm trying. nursingburnout.net has been pretty helpful. We'll see.

[nurseinlimbo]

I think the lack of appreciation is the biggest thing that contributes. I have found that while the floor wants and expects all sorts of sacrifice from me, ie: short notice call ins, too many shifts in a row, short shifts, double shifts, OT for straight pay etc. when I need or want something, the answer is usually no. Vacation requests are denied, bereavement leave is denied (or you just don't ask because you know there is no replacement), education leaves are denied (even 1 day workshops that are a licensing requirement.) It is hard to stay excited about a job where you feel constantly denied, yet the manager is always bringing pictures of her latest cruise or Mexico trip. Hard to be positive about that.

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

I agree with all of the previous posts. I just about lost my cool one day when after a very VERY stressful day in the OR (new attending, insecure, shouting, yelling, throwing instruments, tearing off his gown in a new and better fit of rage) I walk back to my manager's office and plop down in the seat next to her to tell her about my exhausting day. She just gave me this blank look and said, "I still don't see why your day was so hard." I had to get up and walk away.

I think that we are all willing to work hard, but we MUST have some sort of validation from our managers that we are giving 100% all the time. Sometimes I feel like this is what management would like to say to us:

"Hello there you people! We are so glad that you came to work today, but we want to remind you that you must perform your job at 100% energy with 100% efficiency and yes, we want 100% error-free performances from you! Along with that, we are sorry to say that since we are short staffed and we can't afford to hire more nurses, you won't be getting breaks. Oh, and we don't have any relief for you at the end of the day. Now hurry along and get your jobs done so that our reports reflect the outstanding efficiency that we promised to the CFO. Go! What are you waiting for? I have a plane to catch for my vacation! By the way, can you come in on your day off tomorrow?"

[Flying ICU RN]

It also helps to have a sick sense of humor.

At our facility, we have a mandate to clearly mark unserviceable medical equipment.

[RNperdiem, RN]

Having to be responsible for the actions of the doctors, the pharmacy, the lab, housekeeping, etc.

Nurses are rarely able to say "not my job".

I had a patient who needed a echocardiogram last week. The technician did her work, knew the limits of what she was responsible for and smiled and left as I wrestled with my agitated patient. I told her that she had a job with good prospects for long term survival.