PTSD in Nurses: On-the-job trauma may be driving nurses from the profession.

FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I · Mar 4, 2005

Oh how I do believe this. And we thought computers were going to solve our problems. What a joke. Not when so much more is required by nurses these days. They are overworked and underpaid, they get yelled at by Physicians, patients, and families of patients, and I know one personally who was attacked by the son of a patient. He approached her from behind, as she was hanging his mom's unit of blood, and he squeezed her shoulders together so tightly that it put her on the disability list for a short while.

mattsmom81 · Mar 18, 2005

SUPER ARTICLE!!! Thanks so much Karen for sharing...I applaud the author and hope to see more of this type reporting. It is long overdue and just touched the tip of the iceberg.

On the flip side it bothered me at the end when it admonished nurses who 'add to the problem' of shortage by burning out and leaving, leaving the burden on the nurse...again.

Where is the responsibility of employers whose endless demands on nurses and hostility of the work environment adds to our stress? How many nurses have 'lost it' even on the job and were NOT offered counseling and assistance, instead ostracized, made to feel weak, terminated for instability, ruined via the BON...when what they were experiencing was PTSD? these nurses needed help and instead were ruined. I have seen it 4 times in the past few years alone. And these nurses slunk away, ashamed because they 'couldn't handle things'.

Nurses are expected to be 'perfect' and this perfectionism is drilled into us from day one as students, and perpetuated by the nurse eating behavior out there. We are not rewarded for reaching out. I personally know several nurses who asked for help via EAP and this was used to hurt them.

When will this this whole big picture be examined? Soon I pray.

JMHO.

Dixielee, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2005

One of our staff nurses came to me the other night requesting that I be her nurse. She was at work and said she just felt like she was "losing it" and she honestly wanted to kill somebody! She went thru triage with a CC of "I'm going crazy". I gave her some ativan and the doc had a behavioral health consult for her. She went home to rest and to follow up outpatient. This is an excellant nurse, very together and "normal". But, she has a lot on her plate, as we all do in one way or another. She was back at work the next day and seems to be doing well, but I think we are just seeing the tip of the iceburg as more and more nurses are feeling the pressure.

Hospitals are chronically understaffed, acquity is higher than ever, responsibility is increasing, and we do not have the power or authority to do much about it. We can only make changes in our own situation. Long ago, I stopped trying to change the system. That was making me crazy.

I cannot direct the wind, but I can adjust my sails!