How can nurses avoid burnout?

Fribblet · Jul 28, 2010

What are the symptoms you think?

Not too different than signs of depression, in my opinion.

Every day at work is a bad day.

Persistent feeling of tiredness.

Feeling like you're not appreciated and that all your efforts make no difference, either in the workplace or with your patients.

You find work mind-numbing, dull, boring...in general, you're under-stimulated.

Everyone has days where we feel some or all of these things. Signs that you're headed toward burnout is having these feelings with greater frequency, and a much greater difficulty getting out of a "funk."

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2010

Not too different than signs of depression, in my opinion.
Every day at work is a bad day.
Persistent feeling of tiredness.
Feeling like you're not appreciated and that all your efforts make no difference, either in the workplace or with your patients.
You find work mind-numbing, dull, boring...in general, you're under-stimulated.
Everyone has days where we feel some or all of these things. Signs that you're headed toward burnout is having these feelings with greater frequency, and a much greater difficulty getting out of a "funk."

I like your assertion that burnout is a disease.

IDK if avoiding the bedside is how to deal with it though. For me, often, my burnout comes from outside work. What I mean is.........my personal life is not in order hence I become oversensitive to work related issues. One thing I've learned in my time nursing is, I have to have my personal life in some sort of order or I am in trouble. I've taken care to watch this, and work doesn't affect me anywhere near as much.

nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2010

I've seen experienced nurses burn out because they were used up. "Oh, Jane used to work in an oncology office, give her all the CA patients." Well, maybe the reason Jane's here is that she doesn't want to swim in a sea of cancer patients anymore. Or one nurse, who'd worked in a psych hospital got all the dementia/bipolar/off the chain folks dumped on her. No surprise they both left.

Most of the time, people don't burn out, they are burned out by bad management of their workload -- type, frequency or nature. If you've had someone who's had a string of nights where everything went wrong, don't give her the unstable angina hx. of MI x3, an evolving CVA, a couple of sundowners trying to hop over the rails and a post hip repl that screams the roof down when you do so much as take her temp. Don't give the person who just found out their mom has breast cancer every breast cancer patient on the floor, saying "oh, she'll be more sympathetic" -- no, you're just making her miserable. Treat the folks you work with to a little human kindness, and that goes a long way to keep the roster full....

PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN · Jul 29, 2010

Some thoughts...not necessarily in any particular order:

Be good to yourself as an individual first, and if you work in a unit that sees a lot of trauma or super high acuity...learn how to decompress.

I also have found that people with death and dying issues and don't have the coping skills or are not reconciled with THEIR own mortality, have a higher chance of burnout.

Moreover, a balance in life--Home, religion, hobbies so forth and so on--should always be part of one's "personhood." Work should NOT be the definer of one's self-worth.

High expectations--actually, unrealistic expectations, perfectionists, people who build up resentments from their inability to set limits.....those also lead to burnout...I've seen so many intelligent, highly motivated individuals just shrug and give up...such a loss to our profession.

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Jul 29, 2010

I am in LTC/skilled and I have learned that I MUST detach emotionally from my residents. I care about their welfare very deeply, I advocate for them, I show them real affection, but I DO NOT love them. I know what their best outcome is and it is very rarely continued survival. They will not get better, they will only decline and suffer. I simply cannot mourn every loss. I know it sounds cold, but it is not. I cannot give good care if I am too emotionally invested.

AlynnSN · Jul 29, 2010

Slightly OT, but I had a cop-friend tell me something he tells new recruits - not to pick up all the OT and off-duty work you can. He said that he has seen over and over again cops who pick up all this off-duty work and live off that work like it's regular income. The next thing you know, they're buying a house, a flashy car or truck, the stereo, the boat, whatever because they have all this cash. Then 15 years down the road, they are now dependent on that income, it isn't just "extra cash". They are working 80 hours a week, never see their kids, spouse, etc., and they are burned out and still paying the mortgage on that house, the loans on the cars, etc.
I've seen nurses do the same thing. They work tons of OT, as much as they can get. Then OT gets cut, census drops, etc. and then they are looking for extra work because "they can't afford to not have that OT".
Learn to live on your base income and view OT as bonus income only.
(Disclaimer: There are exceptions where people have medical bills or expenses that really are out of their control where they need OT. But my guess is that a lot of people in this situation are living beyond their means to begin with.)

Never would have thought of this! Good advice to know BEFORE starting work as an RN in a couple years!! :)

babiesRmylife · Jul 29, 2010

I don't believe the TYPE of unit you choose to work on has anything to do with burnout. Simply choose a unit you feel suits you best.

I think some of the things that cause "burn out" are poor management, lack of interest &/or ability to further knowledge/adapt to change, working too much overtime, & politics.

If you don't feel like your concerns are heard or are not being managed makes it hard to want to come to work. It's also hard if you have an "invisible manager." One thats never there, you never see, & never takes care of anything. Also NEVER EVER feel guilted into working over time. You MUST take care of yourself before you can ever take care of your patients. Politics are hard to step around there's always a little everywhere you go (I think), but some places are "extreme" which can be overwhelming.

jxRN · Jul 29, 2010

agreed! :rolleyes:

nurse441 · Jul 29, 2010

"you must take care of yourself before you takecare of your patients"

yessss!!!!!!!!!!!

IVPICC · Sep 22, 2010

I agree with alot of the comments here but I think you can get burned out on anything even if you love it. Sometimes you just need a break. I saw an article on nursingburnout.net about "are you at risk" for burnout or something like that. I fit almost EVERY category... except the one about needing to be around people all the time. I actually cherish my alone time these days! But I agree with Doc Lori, some people are definitely more prone to it.

ms_orion · Feb 17, 2011

I cherish my time alone as well .

Pascal Gasbarro · Sep 18, 2011

The best place to start preventing burnout is to be aware that it's a definite threat to nurses. Good for you for recognizing it up front.

Even if you aren't prone to burnout, you'll need to keep up your health to deal with the physical and emotional demands of your profession. Get enough rest, eat well and exercise regularly.

Don't forget to schedule ME TIME, if you want to be of service to others, you have to give yourself the attention and care it takes to maintain your health. You have to care for you first or you'll loose your vitality.

Find ways to let go of emotional reactions toward whatever goes on at work. You can't afford to take it home with you. If you start getting bogged down with emotional stress, seek help. If your organization has EAP, use it.

Meditation is a most effective way to relieve emotional stress. Yoga is proven to maintain the body and mind and balance emotions. Maybe you play sports or have some type of exercise program in place, keep it up.

All the best,

Pascal Gasbarro