Help! Burnout!

[pmsold]

I am in my mid 40's and Just graduated nursing school 1 1/2 years ago. I am currently employed in a long term care facility near my home . Although I initially liked my job , I am now experiencing burnout and am contemplating quitting. When I was first hired 11 months ago , we were adequately staffed . Since then there has been a great deal of turnover and people going on vacation . On a good day , we have 3 nurses to 60 residents . However , lately , it's been only 2 nurses to 60 residents. I cannot handle this ratio , especially since the acuity of the residents can be high . If there are admissions , that's a whole other issue . I leave work feeling depressed and wondering why I ever sacrificed time and money to go back to school to become a nurse . I am seriously considering quitting and taking time off . I would like to do home health hospice where I can be 1:1 with patients and be the nurse I want to be.

[LTC_LNHA]

One nurse to 30 residents is actually a pretty great ratio for my area/state even with higher acuity and the occasional admission. Talk to your nurse manager, DON, ADON, or MDS Coordinator for some direction. Burnout is a real problem; I worked in a management position in a nursing home for 2 years and was one call 24/7 for all but 4 days of it. Finding ways to manager stress and separate work from personal is the key. Let your residents be your source of energy and happiness while at work - that's what worked for me. Before leaving each day after all your work is done, I rounded and said bye to my residents. This really helped me appreciate my job and end the day positively even if it was terrible. I also found it helpful to decline overtime and extra shifts allowing me time to destress and cool down away from work instead of working all the overtime possible like I did early on.