Burnout?? Help!

What do you like about the job? What do you look forward to? Is it chatting with Miss Begonia while you do her AM cares and feed her? Getting all those meds delivered on time? Making someone comfortable after they've had a bowel accident? Being able to see the changes in your residents over time? Is there anything that you like about the job? Focus on those things. Let the other stuff go.

Practice good self-care. I used to swim after work in the summer, dodging power boats and crab pots and in the winter I'd walk the dogs for a few miles. Anything to let off some steam. Or I'd journal. I'd sit down and write for 20 minutes, even if I didn't think I had anything to say. If all I could think of was "I don't know what to write," I'd write that over and over until I would realize that I was writing about something that was bothering me that I didn't even know was bothering me. Once that thing was out in the open, I could address it.

Change shifts. Change specialties. I know I'm extremely biased after my month-long travesty of trying to care for my mother (Alzheimer's) at home, but I don't think I have what it takes to do memory care. I don't have enough patience, for one thing. Try a med/surg floor in the hospital. Home health makes a lot of people really happy. I couldn't do that, either, but many do. Our ICU is always looking for some good CNAs.

The people are fun! I am continually surprised by the things they say. I have been on all shifts now, and day shift is what works best for me. I would like to work in the hospital, but it seems such a daunting process to get in. I've never worked anywhere but nursing homes since I started as a CNA.

You need to start the process of trying to get into a hospital, daunting as it may seem. It's never good to just continue on when you know you're burning out. One day you will snap & loose your patience with a resident and nothing good can come from that!