Nursing- Your health- Burnout- Research ??

68RN · Feb 4, 2006

I do think working years and years short staffed with rare breaks always in the "fight or flight" mode does a horrible number on one's health. i used to explain how I felt while running the halls:"Imagine you are one hour late to the airport and about to miss your flight". This mode is what most of us work in daily.

I have been on medical disability from my job as charge nurse on a night shift in inpatient rehab for almost 3 years. I developed autoimmune disorders,fibromyalgia,inflammatory arthritis which I am now taking methotrexate for. Had 2 knee replacements also. Have disc problems in cervical and lumbar spine. I am 58 years old and never left bedside nursing for long as it was and always will be my first love. I have now turned into a patient with chronic pain and depression over loosing a profession I loved. I loved my patients and the staff I worked with. This is not how I planned to live out my retirement years!!!But you don't always know what God has planned for you. i am trying to deal with it as best I can.Some days are better than others.

I was always advocating for my patients and staff for adequate help for our heavy patient load at night!! It was usuallly less than needed to do all the transfers,turns, and general care for alot of helpless patients.

As far as management goes, I always say, if they admit to a problem then they have to act upon it and strive for a solution. We were always informed if we made a complaint then we should be part of the solution. So if a situation is ignored then no problem exists then there is nothing to be done.

AS charge nurse, I had some part in management. I could go only as far as my nurse manager would let me as far as trying to make a change. I always worked right along side my techs and other nurses. We all did what needed to be done for the patients. We could probably have been the poster gals for team work!! I always took a load of patients and much of time it was 10-11!!

During a cut back period for about 21/2 years they cut back to 1 nurse and 1 tech for up to 21 patients. I do believe that was the beginning of the end for me.

Do I miss it?? yes. Would I go back if i could?? No!! I am finally learning to take care of number 1. And it has not been an easy road. I hope this helps you some. One of our area hospitals is doing a stress research on nurses. they wear V/S moniters and pedometers while at word to see how much stress is put on their bodies. The picture of the one nurse was a very young nurse. They need to also be checking on the older ones, as stress has a much greater impact on oneself as they age.

I guess this turned into some venting on my part. I am so glad that there is some interest in what short staffing is doing to all those wonderful nurses who still love hospital nursing. But it will take upper management's acknowledgement and willingness to help this situation. And they already have the attitude that the nurses are paid to much and are a big chrunch on hospital expenses.

Love this site. It keeps me in the know of what is going on and lets me be around nurses whenever I want. I truely do miss the comradarie!!! I do not know if I spelled it right!! ha

donormom · Feb 4, 2006

I think it is a great study, but I don't see great changes ahead. I know that the nurses that I have worked with for years often skip breaks because they live for the adrenalin rush of pushing themselves so far. I know, because I am one of them.

I fell at a patient's bedside 3 years ago and have never been the same since. I have suffered chronic daily pain and irritibility and have been diagnosised with fibromyalgia. Of course there are those that don't believe that fibromyalgia really exists. There is that cross to bear!

I now work full time in case management and fill in shifts in various parts of the hospital from ICU to women's services to geriatric psych to keep my skills up. I can't imagine losing the clinical skills that I have worked so hard to obtain.

I truly believe that when one door closes, God opens another. I have learned much as a case manager that I would have never learned had I not gone through these trials.

I am now working toward an APN degree as a Family Nurse Practioner. All this while trying to play "SuperMOM".

Hopefully, when I achieve my dream it will be better suited for my changed physical condition.

:nurse:

RNgonewild · Feb 4, 2006

You know what is the funniest thing of all? We as nurses take our health for granted. We care for people who have no health insurance, limited health insurance, etc. But when it comes time for us to retire, the hospital puts us out on an icefloe, with no retiree health benefits. We as long time "health providers" have no health insurance "provided" for us! Then we lose what we worked very hard for our whole entire adult lives. I know there is no free rides, but we have paid for our rides with our bodies and our souls.

llg, PhD, RN · Feb 4, 2006

The study you are proposing is certainly worth doing ... but it is such a big complex issue that it will be extremely difficult to do in such a way as to yield valid, reliable results. I would suggest that you try to partner with an experienced researcher who could help you design a series of studies that would address the topic over time. Such a program would probably yield better resutlts and also be a little more politically palatable to your administration.

As you already know, you'll need your administration's support to conduct such a study. So, you'll need to "make friends" with DON (V.P. for Nursing, or whoever). Ideally, you can find a way to partner with her so that she feels she has some control over it. It might also help to do some preliminary small studies that demonstrate your ability to do research and handle sensitive issues in a way that your administration can support. You'll need to prove to them that you are trustworthy and can handle sensitive subjects in a way that is not inflamatory.

Finally, you might try to partner with a researcher who is already doing similar research ... use their tools .... etc. Look at the journal Nursing Management from the last couple of months. There is a researcher working on the relationship between "perceived workload" and "intent to stay." Doing a study that compared your hospital to the ones in that researcher has collected in mulitiple hospitals might be something your hospital would be interested in as retention is such a hot topic. It's not exactly the topic you had in mind, but it would open the door for follow-up studies to explore your results further.

Good luck,

llg

donormom · Feb 4, 2006

The study you are proposing is certainly worth doing ... but it is such a big complex issue that it will be extremely difficult to do in such a way as to yield valid, reliable results. I would suggest that you try to partner with an experienced researcher who could help you design a series of studies that would address the topic over time. Such a program would probably yield better resutlts and also be a little more politically palatable to your administration.
Finally, you might try to partner with a researcher who is already doing similar research ... use their tools .... etc. Look at the journal Nursing Management from the last couple of months. There is a researcher working on the relationship between "perceived workload" and "intent to stay." Doing a study that compared your hospital to the ones in that researcher has collected in mulitiple hospitals might be something your hospital would be interested in as retention is such a hot topic. It's not exactly the topic you had in mind, but it would open the door for follow-up studies to explore your results further.
Good luck,
llg

I think these are some great ideas and have a greater chance of acceptance in your hospital.

Good Luck!!