What to do about burn out?

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Neats, BSN

682 Posts

Specializes in Case Manager/Administrator.

There is a term out there called compassion fatigue, this is a real secondary stress related issue that plagues mostly medical professional, it is associated with the interactions we have with patients on a daily basis. Burn out is related to everything else that goes on in our environment i.e like having to walk down 3 flights of stairs to get to the cafeteria for a lunch break of only 30 mins if you are lucky, or not having lunch on a daily basis because you are always short staffed or dealing with dying patients or those who are difficult and malingering.

It is recommended that people in these situations get professional guidance. While working in the prison system I developed compassion fatigue, I truly had difficulty in having a thought at times for my patient, I would just follow the policy and had to force myself to ask the patient how they felt, if there was anything I could assist them with their healthcare. I never placed my patients in jeopardy but I did have difficulty dealing with the cries for help disguised as medical when clearly they needed mental health interventions.

Improving your situation using multiple methods and really acknowledging where I am and what am I doing really helped. I also learned to take care of myself better and developed new boundaries not only for me but my interaction with others.

Specializes in icu,prime care,mri,ct, cardiology, pacu,.

Burnout is real. Talk to your primary care or see a counselor. It's a present to yourself. You may need meds for anxiety/depression. Take care of YOU.

middleagednurse

554 Posts

Specializes in nurseline,med surg, PD.

I understand. I have been a nurse for 47 years and believe me I understand your stress. My saving grace at this time is private duty. I only have one patient to deal with, and I specialize in infants, so I can learn every single detail about my one patient, plus I get to rock soft warm babies. Plus, good ole anti depressants. The job perk I love most is that I work when I want, where I want, and if I want to take a month off, I can. Although PD does not have benefits. Fortuneantly I have Medicare, so I don't need to worry about insurance.

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