Avoiding burn out

TopazLover, BSN, RN · Aug 26, 2008

You are doing great. Now, BREATHE. Learn how to take a breath when you start feeling the flush. I

t is great that you recognize your limitations. Every new nurse has some of the same feelings. You just have one of those bodies that put it out for all to see.

Take another deep breath.

Give yourself time to settle in to the new environment. Use your off time for you, not P&P. Yes, you may be Type A. Are you really that boring that you want to read P&P when you can be catching a few rays? Seeing friends, having a life?

Take another deep breath.

Nursing is a career. It is not a job. It can become a lifestyle. Don't have it become your life.

Hang in there. There is light at the end of your tunnel of learning.

Now take a cleansing breath and enjoy life. :coollook:

november17, ASN, RN · Aug 26, 2008

I am reading P&Ps on my days off which helps.

Wow, you need to read a good book,watch a movie,play tennis, knit some socks, ride a skateboard, or whatever you like to do instead of that.

Megsd, BSN, RN · Aug 27, 2008

I'm kind of similar. I have no game face, my coworkers apparently think that I can't hold it together in stressful situations. I try to handle everything myself, perfectly, and before I know it I'm up to my eyeballs in stuff to do. My advice (that I am trying to work on myself, too):

BREATHE. You are new, and you are only one person.

Use your resources. On my unit we have a "buddy" who covers our lunch report and also acts as our first line of help. Ask them to help you with things, especially if they offer. Don't overwhelm them -- they're busy too, but they can certainly give someone a pain pill if you're stuck in an isolation room.

EAT LUNCH. Most things can wait until after lunch.

Leave work at work. Don't read P&P on your days off. Go do non work-related things. Read a novel, watch a movie, go for a walk. I still dream about work every night after I work, but that is improving.

Relish your small victories. Did you finally remember the process to send a pt to surgery? Did you get a positive response from that usually cranky doctor? Did you get to lunch on time? Pat yourself on the back. :)

Take a moment to realize all the things you learned today. These things will make tomorrow a little easier.

And when stuff hits the fan and all you want to do is break down, sit down, alone, and breathe for a second and collect yourself. Go in the bathroom, go in the med room, think about what you need to do to be successful, and when you are calm and collected, you can emerge and do them.

RNBelle · Aug 29, 2008

everyone has great suggestions! you will also start to feel better and more confident with the more experience you get. i have been out for a year now and my confidence level is so much higher. you will get there, just give it time and enjoy the ride!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Aug 29, 2008

i could have written your note thirty years ago had allnurses.com -- or the internet -- existed then! over the past 30 years, i've developed if not a poker face, a (so they tell me) calm demeanor. i've also increased my knowledge base and my skill level, discovered teaching skills i didn't know i had, and burned out several times.

here's what i know about burnout: it's going to happen. you can either nip it in the bud and avoid the worst of it or you can ignore it until it destroys either your career or your life.

try not to take your work problems home. if you do take your work problems home, give yourself a time and place to deal with them and then just stop worrying about them. i used to walk -- miles and miles and miles -- while i worried about work, but when i got home again it was time to be home. (a big dog or two makes the walking more fun!) now i swim -- dodging power boats, jelly fish and swell. (yeah, that's me who smells of ammonia and has the big welts on her neck and chest!)

when you start wondering if you might be crispy, you probably are. stop and take some time to figure out what will help: changing shifts may be all it takes. (night shift is great for crispy nurses, and it allows you to keep on working while you either get over it or figure out what to do next.) maybe you need to transfer into (or out of) a specialty area. maybe you need a kick-ass hobby to focus on instead of your job. maybe you need to move to a different hospital, a different city, a different state. it's probably too early in your case to be changing jobs -- or even to be really crispy -- you're just getting started in your career. but maybe it's not too soon for you to be finding a passion other than your job to help balance your life.

as you gain some experience, you will gain confidence, expertise and perhaps even, if you're luckier than me, a poker face. take care of yourself as well as you would of your patients, and let time help.

petrymomRN · Aug 29, 2008

OMG!!!! Your post is so what I am going through. I have a very similar personality to yours. Adding to how overwhelmed I am feeling, I am so struggling with the night shift. I can't sleep during the day. I am sometimes working on 2 hours of sleep.

I had an ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE night last night. Was scheduled to work 7-11 last night as a pick up night. I usually work 7p to 7a. The hospital called for me to pick up the 11-7 shift too. I didn't know if I wanted to as I only had 2 hours of sleep the day before (worked through the night and didn't expect to have to stay at work all night). BUT, being the person that I am, I wouldn't want to be put in that position with no one to pick up for me........

WELL, MISTAKE!!! I started with 6 patients (1 that was a total care post-op who was vomiting and pooping all over, who at 2330 blew her IV - IV number 3 for the day and she is an anesthesia poke; 1 who has dementia and a BKA - the night before he wandered out of bed, foley on one side and him on the other (on the floor); and 1 who was 1 day PO with a foley out and severe pelvic pain unable to void.) the other 3 patients unfortunately didn't get to see me much during the first 4 hours.

I was already in tears by the time I picked up my 7th patient - a 35 yo who was on the call light all night the night before AND just found out her husband wanted a divorce. OMG!!!!! I just don't think I am cut out for this!!! we had 26 patients on the floor 4 rns and a float CNA. I know these numbers don't seem bad and I am not even sure of the needs of the other 17 patients, but I couldn't help but think somebody was trying to put me in my place.

Except, I am to the point that I am not so sure that I am cut out to be a nurse. I think I have hit burnout and I am only 5 months on the new job. Thanks for your post. It makes me feel like maybe I am not the only stressed person.

Iheartadvice · Aug 31, 2008

Wow, thanks everyone...

I LMAO at the responses to reading the P&P manuals on my off time. Its only been three weeks off orientation, I'm not expected to know everything... Its just SO tough for me to accept that I know less than EVERYONE right now. I relish the few occasions someone asks me for something and I can help!

And noted, I'll try to breathe... I tend to forget about caring for myself when I'm trying so hard to care for my patients.

Now if I could just sleep?!

JoMom4 · Sep 1, 2008

To all new grads- Hang in there! Most of us experienced nurses feel for you and we remember well what we went through during that first year. I was a 3-yr diploma grad and I had much more clinical experience when I got out than some of you who are going through accelerated and 2-yr programs. Plus, the patients are sicker these days than they were 25 years ago. If your shift is going downhill fast, let your charge nurse know. As a charge nurse, I feel bad when a nurse comes to me in tears. I always tell my newer nurses "Tell me when you feel you are starting to lose control of the assignment. I can jump in and perform a few tasks at that point to help get you back on track." Charge nurses are busy too, often with their own patient load, so they may not be able to see what's going on with your patients.

I have taken an interest in mentoring new grads and supporting them. 60% of nurses change jobs within 1 year of passing the boards. I think this is because everyone thinks the grass is greener somewhere else. Usually, it's not. Rather than stressing out about a new job and losing benefits gained after 1 year of employment, my goal is to support new nurses and get them to the point of being comfortable as the RN and stay where they are (if they are happy with the specialty they are in).

Like I said before, hang in there, it will get better!:heartbeat

loricatus · Sep 1, 2008

Rather than setting your goal for perfection, ease up on yourself and just set the goal that no one will die on your shift from some cause of yours. You will then see that everything else automatically fits into place.

TopazLover, BSN, RN · Sep 1, 2008

One of the best pieces of advice I was given a long time ago was a "God Box". If you have a different higher power , rename it.

Get a pretty box. Write notes of the things that keep you from sleeping. Place them in the box and ask that they be looked over during the night. Promise to take care of them after a night's sleep.

Read them the next day or so. Sometimes it is funny what I thought of that kept sleep away. Interestingly enough, it did help.

I think it was the acknowledgment of the issues rather than having to find a fix that made it work. I don't know. I just know that I keep a "God Box" in case I need it. I still use the idea, but usually I can just put it into a prayer. "Please take case of ____ until I can."

Remember you will not be the new nurse forever. Every nurse has gone through the doubts and fears. That's why we come to this site. Sometimes we take what we need. Sometimes we give what we can.

Best of luck.:typing