What Makes You Feel Burnt Out??? (10 Questions)

kstec, LPN · Jul 14, 2007

1. In which area of nursing are you working (OB, L&D, ICU, ER, Med/Surg, Peds, Hospice, etc.)? LTC and a clinic

2. Do you work at a hospital? If not, in what type of facility do you work? no, LTC and a family practice/internal med clinic

3. Are you working as a nurse AND in school at the same time? If so, which scenario fits you: work FT, school FT? work FT, school PT? work PT, school FT? work PT, school PT? Work prn between two jobs as a LPN and not back in school yet, if ever.

4. How many hours a week do you work? Between 8 and 32, depends on childcare

5. What type of shifts do you work? 1st and 2nd, depending of hours available and childcare

6. Are you married or single? Married

7. Do you have children? If so, how many? 2 boys 7 & 9 years old

8. What age group do you fit in?:

18-22

23-27

28-32

33-37 I fit here

38-42

43-47

48-52

53+

9. Are you physically fit and eat a healthy diet (all the time, most of the time, sometimes, never)? I attempt, but fail miserably most of the time

10. What do you believe is the main factor that is causing you to feel burnt out? With both the clinic and LTC, there both very repetitive in job duties.

EmmaG, RN · Jul 14, 2007

1. in which area of nursing are you working (ob, l&d, icu, er, med/surg, peds, hospice, etc.)? heme/onc, med/surg, tele, neuro

2. do you work at a hospital? yes

3. are you working as a nurse and in school at the same time? no

4. how many hours a week do you work? 40+

5. what type of shifts do you work? generally 12 hour nights; now 8 and 12 hour nights

6. are you married or single? single

7. do you have children? yes, they're grown.

8. what age group do you fit in?:

18-22

23-27

28-32

33-37

38-42

43-47

48-52

53+

9. are you physically fit and eat a healthy diet (all the time, most of the time, sometimes, never)? getting less so as time goes on; i am too exhausted or in too much discomfort to eat healthy most of the time. sleep is much more important... i don't eat junky stuff, but my diet is certainly lacking in essentials and isn't balanced.

10. what do you believe is the main factor that is causing you to feel burnt out? this job has worn me out mentally, emotionally and physically. my real burn-out is what led me to go into traveling. i figured i could handle any place for 13 weeks. but as far as the job i'd worked for 17 years?

short-staffing, being called every single day i'm off to work extra; being the only rn on a very busy oncology unit with critically ill patients finally got to me (we only had two of us on nights, we split the week)... no support from my manager or her immediate supervisor; lack of support from the hospital administration in general--- not standing up for their staff, only caring about the 'bottom line', no appreciation of staff, presenting themselves to the public as if they were a five-star hotel instead of a healthcare facility (press gainey: kiss my tail!!); overbearing, rude, demanding, inconsiderate families and visitors (patients are rarely the problem); being watched for any little mistake or misstep or perceived break in the rules (you're not wearing white shoelaces!!!), knowing we'll be raked over the coals, yet never being acknowledged for a job well done; being made to feel expendable and worthless--- they use you until your used up, then kick you to the curb; being treated like children and given no voice in our practice and care of the patients; being worked until ready to drop, then when so worn down you inevitably get sick, calling you in for verbal and written warnings, leading to probation for having more than 3 occurrences in a year; paperwork, paperwork, paperwork; flowsheets and bs charting that only serves to placate jcaho and other various and sundry auditors, leaving us less and less time at the patient's bedside--- but hey! it looks great on paper!!!; going for years with no evaluation, even though one is due by the anniversary date yearly; and finally, the night it came to a head and i walked out never to come back, a true staffing crisis and upon reaching my manager, she said "i'll call you right back". never did. never answered any further calls, even though she was on call not only for our floor, but for any staffing problem. as far as she knew, that issue was never resolved. she had the absolute nerve to ask me how much of a notice i would be working out. and then act surprised when i said "none".

and my daughter laughs when i tell her "i hate people".

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Jul 14, 2007

1. In which area of nursing are you working (OB, L&D, ICU, ER, Med/Surg, Peds, Hospice, etc.)?

Medical Imaging

2. Do you work at a hospital? If not, in what type of facility do you work?

Hospital

3. Are you working as a nurse AND in school at the same time? If so, which scenario fits you: work FT, school FT? work FT, school PT? work PT, school FT? work PT, school PT?

4. How many hours a week do you work?

36

5. What type of shifts do you work?

3 x 12

6. Are you married or single?

Married

7. Do you have children? If so, how many?

2 Children, 2 Grandchildren

8. What age group do you fit in?:

18-22

23-27

28-32

33-37

38-42

43-47

48-52

53+

9. Are you physically fit and eat a healthy diet (all the time, most of the time, sometimes, never)?

Active, healthy diet

10. What do you believe is the main factor that is causing you to feel burnt out?

When I was working on med/surg full time for 6 years I got burnt out the last 3-4 months I worked on the floor. Stress, too many sick patients, being pulled to areas where I was unfamiliar, patient load, unthankful patients, PIA family members...I was having trouble sleeping, dreading working the next day, headaches, bad mood at work, bad mood at home. I quit!

Kanani_Ikike · Jul 14, 2007

as a newbie, i have noticed in several threads that many of you have expressed feeling burnt out from working as a nurse. i would like to know the answers to the following 10 questions from those of you who feel burnt out:

1. in which area of nursing are you working (ob, l&d, icu, er, med/surg, peds, hospice, etc.)?

ltc

2. do you work at a hospital? if not, in what type of facility do you work?

nursing home/skilled nursing facility

3. are you working as a nurse and in school at the same time? if so, which scenario fits you: work ft, school ft? work ft, school pt? work pt, school ft? work pt, school pt?

not in school at this moment

4. how many hours a week do you work?

40+

5. what type of shifts do you work?

five 8-hr. shifts, no weekends, 2nd shift

6. are you married or single?

single

7. do you have children? if so, how many?

i have 2 kids

8. what age group do you fit in?:

28-32

9. are you physically fit and eat a healthy diet (all the time, most of the time, sometimes, never)?

i am physically fit, i do eat a well-balanced diet most of the time.

10. what do you believe is the main factor that is causing you to feel burnt out?

i feel that there are several factors that cause me to be burnt out. one factor is working with and dealing with arrogant, self-serving physicians on a regular basis. another factor is working 5 days a week. i'd rather do three 12 hour shifts and have four days off. being there everyday and only having weekends off makes me unhappy. the main reason i am burnt out is working short-staffed, having to take care of too many people with not enough time or resources, dealing with evil, miserable family members and visitors whose main purpose in life is to ruin your day. and last but, not least, the healthcare system in this country is a joke.

thanks in advance!!! :)

elizabeth321 · Jul 15, 2007

1. In which area of nursing are you working (OB, L&D, ICU, ER, Med/Surg, Peds, Hospice, etc.) ER and ambulatory care

2. Do you work at a hospital? If not, in what type of facility do you work? Hospital

3. Are you working as a nurse AND in school at the same time? If so, which scenario fits you: work FT, school FT? work FT, school PT? work PT, school FT? work PT, school PT? Work PT

4. How many hours a week do you work? 40+

5. What type of shifts do you work? days and evenings

6. Are you married or single? married

7. Do you have children? If so, how many?2

8. What age group do you fit in?: 43-47

18-22

23-27

28-32

33-37

38-42

43-47

48-52

53+

9. Are you physically fit and eat a healthy diet (all the time, most of the time, sometimes, never)? Sometimes

10. What do you believe is the main factor that is causing you to feel burnt out? Personality type-high expectations of myself and others

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Jul 15, 2007

as a newbie, i have noticed in several threads that many of you have expressed feeling burnt out from working as a nurse. i would like to know the answers to the following 10 questions from those of you who feel burnt out:

1. in which area of nursing are you working (ob, l&d, icu, er, med/surg, peds, hospice, etc.)?

telemetry

2. do you work at a hospital? if not, in what type of facility do you work?

hospital

3. are you working as a nurse and in school at the same time? if so, which scenario fits you: work ft, school ft? work ft, school pt? work pt, school ft? work pt, school pt?

work ft

4. how many hours a week do you work?

40

5. what type of shifts do you work?

8 hours

6. are you married or single?

married

7. do you have children? if so, how many?

one teen at home

8. what age group do you fit in?:

18-22

23-27

28-32

33-37

38-42

43-47

48-52

53+

9. are you physically fit and eat a healthy diet (all the time, most of the time, sometimes, never)?

not fit, but eating healthy

10. what do you believe is the main factor that is causing you to feel burnt out?

unable to have time to be a good nurse to my patients. no time for real interaction. unable to have time to develop a therapeutic relationship with my patients and support them emotionally. nursing has become a task-oriented runaround with many nursing duties shuffled off to other departments while at the same time "holistic" nursing is touted as today's standard.

in other facilities that i've worked, i burnt out because of:

no say in staffing. unable to take breaks, yet expected to cover for others who smoke three times a shift. unable to say no to admits when we are overwhelmed. dangerous practices, such as unit secretary assigning a bed, and then finding a fresh postop patient in the room without report. unable to uphold the standards of our licensure because of the way a unit is run. no respect from anyone from administration to patient families. we're expected to take abuse and be silent about injuries. horizontal abuse. bodily pain from being on my feet for 12 hours and pulling, pushing, and lifting patients. watching good, experienced nurses get railroaded into leaving because they made more money than new grads. expected to float to areas in which we have no expertise.

that enough or shall i go on? :lol2:

thanks in advance!!! :)

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Jul 15, 2007

As a newbie, I have noticed in several threads that many of you have expressed feeling burnt out from working as a nurse. I would like to know the answers to the following 10 questions from those of you who feel burnt out:
1. In which area of nursing are you working (OB, L&D, ICU, ER, Med/Surg, Peds, Hospice, etc.)? ER of course
2. Do you work at a hospital? If not, in what type of facility do you work?
yes a hospital
3. Are you working as a nurse AND in school at the same time? If so, which scenario fits you: work FT, school FT? work FT, school PT? work PT, school FT? work PT, school PT? Work Full time and more, school part ime
4. How many hours a week do you work? %0 hours a week is my usual. More than that just gets texaed to heavy, less than that makes my mad
5. What type of shifts do you work?11-23, 12-24
6. Are you married or single? Im not just married, I am married
7. Do you have children? If so, how many? 7 with my wife, I also have a son from a girl in Oklahoma, he is in Iraq now. I have another daughter from a previous relationship before my wife. She is a nurse in ER at Parkland. I have 2 sons from A another relationship. Bill is in Iraq also.
Thats a total of 11. I am expecting my 14th grandchild.
8. What age group do you fit in?:
18-22
23-27
28-32
33-37
38-42
43-47
48-52
53++++++++++++++++++
9. Are you physically fit and eat a healthy diet (all the time, most of the time, sometimes, never)? Im Fit, eat healthy. Did have a recent MI, but that aint slowed me down any.
10. What do you believe is the main factor that is causing you to feel burnt out?
I dont feel burned out, I never have felt burned out. Who has the time to feel burned out.
Thanks in advance!!! :)

your welcome

mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 15, 2007

1. in which area of nursing are you working (ob, l&d, icu, er, med/surg, peds, hospice, etc.)? er - 2 different places

2. do you work at a hospital? if not, in what type of facility do you work? hospital

3. are you working as a nurse and in school at the same time? if so, which scenario fits you: work ft, school ft? work ft, school pt? work pt, school ft? work pt, school pt? full time at one job, prn at the other, no school

4. how many hours a week do you work? 36-48

5. what type of shifts do you work? i work 12 hour shifts, always midshift (11-11 or 12-12 or 3-3)

6. are you married or single? married

7. do you have children? if so, how many? 1, he is 8

8. what age group do you fit in?:

18-22

23-27

28-32

33-37 - - - right here

38-42

43-47

48-52

53+

9. are you physically fit and eat a healthy diet (all the time, most of the time, sometimes, never)? i lost 82 lbs before i started ns and i've managed to keep most of it off. i don't excerise though like i should

10. what do you believe is the main factor that is causing you to feel burnt out? i work in a small facility full time. that will cause me to be crispy probably sooner than later. you wear 18 hats while in the er, it's never enough, we are always short staffed. you are the admission clerk, pharm tech, rt, pt and ot, the rn, the cna, the housekeeper, the ward clerk and the repair man.

administration says we can not plan for the "what if's" but we are an er.

paperwork

the constant change that goes on. we have all new mid-level management at my full time job, they change something every single day.

backstabbing co-workers and even worse, backstabbing managers wear me out. angry, abusive patients and their families. people who don't stop abusing the system. parents who list the "er" as their family doctor when asked.

EmerNurse, BSN, RN · Jul 15, 2007

1. in which area of nursing are you working (ob, l&d, icu, er, med/surg, peds, hospice, etc.)? emergency dept of a county hospital

2. do you work at a hospital? if not, in what type of facility do you work?

3. are you working as a nurse and in school at the same time? if so, which scenario fits you: work ft, school ft? work ft, school pt? work pt, school ft? work pt, school pt? full time 3-4 night 12'ves per week plus online bsn (which is killing me, have to cut back somewhere)

4. how many hours a week do you work? 40-50

5. what type of shifts do you work? nights, 12 hours, plus mandatory meetings and education (all scheduled for daytime, of course)

6. are you married or single? married

7. do you have children? if so, how many? 4 kids, two grown and gone, one grandbaby, two teens still at home.

8. what age group do you fit in?:

18-22

23-27

28-32

33-37

38-42

43-47

48-52

53+

9. are you physically fit and eat a healthy diet (all the time, most of the time, sometimes, never)? have recently started working out in my spare (?) time - am at a healthy weight but body fat % needs a lot of work. eat half-decently but need to definately do better.

10. what do you believe is the main factor that is causing you to feel burnt out?

main factor?? administration's lack of respect and caring for their staff. they took away self-scheduling and now i battle with the one off, two on, two off, three on, one off, two on... thing. we're all dragging with this schedule. working three nights a week does not mean four nights off in a row, trust me on this. also, bullying from one or two nurses (one day, one night) who treat other staff like dirt, but are untouchable due to seniority (union) and because they're friends with the boss. add to that an overwhelmed er, patients who are there every week since we are they're primarly doc, long waiting room waits, spending a night in triage trying to apologize for the wait to people who don't need to be there, families who are nuts, short staffing (of course people call out, we're exhausted) and staff meetings where nothing is resolved, but we're all "reminded" of what all we didn't do and new things we need to do. forget about having enough time to actually really care for patients. just assess 'em, medicate 'em and get 'em to the floor (or out the door). no time for what we consider the real nursing. and always having 2 or 3 icu patients, plus a tele or two because they're "too unstable" to go to the unit. um... icu ratio is 2 to 1 - how does this make sense??

good grief, who wouldn't get burned out.

thanks in advance!!! :)