Stress and Burnout

chrispicritah · Sep 22, 2005

yes, it does help. i burned some sage this afternoon, it is a very earthy scent but it makes me feel that i am in a very earthy environment. i burn lavender oil for the same reason.

on 9/11 (what a day) a patient grabbed me by my right wrist and twisted it.

i filed ia papers and have been seen by the ia physician, who has put me on light duty and p/t for two weeks. my boss has yet to get back with me on it. she did however yell at me the next morning for not going to the doctor the night before (7 miles away). the night supv. were not in their office, and the clerk told me to leave the papers for her in the morning. so, i went home after doing my part. she was mad because she had to make the call to report the accident. this is why i am tired of the whole thing. we work like dogs and when we get hurt, they treat us like dogs. mind you, i knew that the patient was weird, but i did not know he would grab me. they did say that he hollers out but did not say that he was violent. i found out afterwards that he kicked a doctor, and threw food at another nurse. when i read the chart, he has a history of violent and abusive behaviour. :angryfire

there is no such thing as 'light duty' for us...and i am supposed to wear a splint to prevent further injury so how can i wash my hands anyway? they are very nice to me at the doctor's office, at least. the doctor gave me naprosyn, which may have caused me to be in the hospital over the weekend with a very strange illness that put me on a non-rebreather mask in the er, and i was on telemetry for two days with bradycardia (51) 83/50. :crying2: that was scary. i have a low bp and a pretty slow pulse but that was different. i was discharged on monday.

i will not let them kill me. i have to get away from that dam* job.

cc

Dixielee, BSN, RN · Sep 22, 2005

I understand what you are trying to say, but IMO the situation nurses are in, in many cases, is not 'masterable'...that is what causes the burnout for the experienced nurse. Perhaps your point holds true in new nurses who burn out, but not seasoned nurses. We simply reach a point of where we cannot 'give' anymore due to the ridiculous demands and frustrations of being PREVENTED in doing our best in an unsupportive environment of care, expecting us to constantly do more with less. At least, the above is true for me and other seasoned nurses I know who have or are in burnout.

I couldn't agree more. If I have not "mastered" my craft after 32 years and 6 years of college, I guess it just can't be done (by me anyway). Mastering nursing is sort of like mastering a hurricane. You can prepare all you can, stay with it as long as you can, but for many, the only answer is to evacuate! Too bad so many good quality nurses are leaving the field.

I don't know how much longer I can do this, but if I thought I could do something else and make a decent living, I would do it in a flash! Being a travel nurse is the only thing keeping me sane right now. I see such abuse of nurses it makes me fighting mad. But we are essentially powerless. So many good nurses see the only option as more education so they can get away from the bedside. Unfortunately the farther away you get from the bedside, the more you forget what it was like, so the changes never come.

WE HAVE ALL OF THE RESPONSIBILITY AND NONE OF THE AUTHORITY!

Jazuta · Sep 26, 2005

:sofahider

Sounds nice Chris,

I think I'll give it a try sometime.

Might be easier than swimming for two or so hours after work each day.

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Sep 26, 2005

I understand what you are trying to say, but IMO the situation nurses are in, in many cases, is not 'masterable'...that is what causes the burnout for the experienced nurse. Perhaps your point holds true in new nurses who burn out, but not seasoned nurses. We simply reach a point of where we cannot 'give' anymore due to the ridiculous demands and frustrations of being PREVENTED in doing our best in an unsupportive environment of care, expecting us to constantly do more with less. At least, the above is true for me and other seasoned nurses I know who have or are in burnout.

ITA. Wonderfully said, mattsmom. The implication that seasoned nurses burn-out because they have not "mastered the work" got under my skin. I knew what I wanted to say, but not how to say it.

But, you nailed it.

Sailingshoes · Sep 27, 2005

I am just back from a 4-day trek of "mastering" some of the great mountains here in the Rockies and it feels great...until I think about going back to work in the hospital. That thought causes anxiety. That can't be good! Think I won't even try to "master" nursing but just give in, do my best, hope for the best and if my blood pressure elevates like some of the other posters, then I'll become a professional mtn guide....if that will pay the bills.....hmmm.

Some stress is good - keeps me on my toes and prevents boredom but jeez, I don't want the overload of stress that I am finding in hospital nursing. What's the key to dealing with this? Why do you say travel nursing keeps you sane? Perhaps I should try that. Travel to different mountains.

chrispicritah · Feb 23, 2006

well

i am back again, five months after being in the hospital with bradycardia i still don't feel well. everytime i come home i feel like i am dying inside. i have already told my story...so i will fast forward, i went to a job fair and left my resume in several places, one with a medical weight-loss clinic. i went on two interviews and have been offered a job. i got the message when i woke up this evening.

it is a drastic salary cut, but the piece of mind is worth it. i am so tired...i want to feel like myself again. i don't believe in antidepressants for myself, when i know that i am depressed because of my situation. the bad thing is that i have been in it so long i don't know if i can be happy again on a nursing job. there is no pt. care, no iv's, none of that, just counseling and referrals. i am good at that.

the shifts are short, i can still work on my art. my passion is still drama, the job is located near the entertainment hub in a major metropolitan area. so maybe this is an answer to prayer, maybe God has looked on me and made a way.

i will sleep on it, and tomorrow morning i will know. the doctor was right, she said that i have been in a cage so long i forgot how to fly... and if i ever got out it would be hard to stay in. that is why i got sick.

but maybe things will get better for me. after 22 years i still look much younger, i can still pass for ten years younger than my real age. i have gained ten pounds but i can lose it since i can go walking after work.

i can't keep having heart burn and feeling sick, next time i might not make it.

bleeding ulcers run in my family.:angryfire

crispi

dreamlandeals · Feb 23, 2006

Deep breathing is good stress reducer

Sundancer123 · Feb 23, 2006

Hmmmm...stress in the nursing field?

This might sound strange but I got into nursing because my old job was too stressful! lol.

I listen to nurses I work with and just wounder what they would do if:

They (the nurse) were the first person that a wife/husband has to comfort when they find their significant other, dead when they wake up in the morning in their home.

They (the nurse) were the first person that the fireman hands over a lifeless 3 year old they pulled from a burning house and your speeding down the road intubating and doing compressions on and starting an IV.

They (the nurse) were the first person that the rape victim has to re-tell her every detail of what just happened.

They (the nurse) were the first person on a motor vehicle accident where you have to crawl in the back of the car to start an IV in the near darkness of the night, hold their hand because the 16 year old is terrified and asking about her boyfiend, who is dead in the front seat, but you have to wait for the jaws-of-life to get her out....and then she is no longer asking about her boyfriend....

They (the nurse) were the first person for a woman who was working on her car at 2am (yeap, a woman and at 2am) and it exploded causing 2 and 3rd degree burns over 78 percent of her body and you look at her thinking she should be dead, cause she looks like she is. and she is begging for help in pain, and as you try to look for an IV site her skin is just melting off her body in front of you.

They (the nurse) were the first person that a man with a gun shot wound tells you he wanted to die, to tell his family he loves them and that it wasnt the cops fault for shooting him, all while driving down the road starting an IV by yourself in the back of the unit.

They (the nurse)...

I could go on and on....but if you havent guessed yet, I am a paramedic, who after many years I had had enough. My last year I had 3 bad calls within 2 weeks (a 3 month old shot in the head by drug dealers, 24 year old shot in the head by an angry boyfriend - she was still breathing, and a police officer shot in the head while on duty.

As a paramedic, we are the doctor, the nurse, the respiratory therapist, the couselor. We are it, alone in their house or their street corner wherever they are when they hurt. I have been on scenes where we are treating chest pain and you hear shots being fired from a couple houses down.

Nursing isnt the stress... nurses are the stress, well for me anyway. Then again. I am an LPN going for my RN and have only been working with nurses for 3 years, so maybe in 5 years as a RN....I be stressed.

chadash · Feb 23, 2006

Wow! I can't imagine all that you have seen and experienced. You must also be in some circumstances that place you in physical danger.

Sundancer123 · Feb 24, 2006

Wow! I can't imagine all that you have seen and experienced. You must also be in some circumstances that place you in physical danger.

No danger now. I work as an LPN at a facility. But many years as a paramedic, I have seen alot.