Need help getting through feeling of burnout

JKL33 · Apr 25

This sounds like quite the rough time. It sounds like the workplace is a major problem; not necessarily nursing itself. Several bits you included in your post (crappy equipment, staffing, the retaliation for not having previously accepted a management position) -- those are big problems and not individual ones. This is crappy treatment, not some individual "burnout" hurdle that you personally should feel ashamed for not being strong enough to handle like an Olympic hurdler.

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What broke me is nurses habitually calling in for dumb@$$ reasons, leaving me to not only run a very busy unit, but to also take a full patient load. I love patient care; that's not the problem. The problem is my patients don't get the best version of my nurse self because I'm constantly pulled away from them.

I agree the call outs w/o discipline would be annoying. But let's be clear: Your management has decied that *YOU,* the charge nurse, are the back up plan for when staff call in. I do know how I have handled this type of situation: If I am put in an assignment being the primary RN for a group of patients, that is priority #1. I guess there will be no charge nurse. I vehemently reject the idea that I can do these two jobs at once just because that is management's fantasy. I actually find it annoying when other charge nurses become 100% frazzled over this situation; I have seen people in tears about reports that weren't run and supplies that weren't counted/ordered and Dr So and So had to wait for XYZ and the nurses didn't have anyone to break them, all because the "charge nurse" was in a patient assignment. Sorry but this is solidly one of those cases where "your [management] crisis is your problem; if you feel it is imperative to have a charge nurse to do these dozens of duties, then you will need another back up plan for when someone calls in." PERIOD. I fail to understand how so many RNs get both guilted *and duped* into feeling like they individually must perform impossible tasks or else this whole place falls apart and people will die and blah, blah, blah. IF it's THAT CRUCIAL then management better have a solid back up plan.

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I hear the nurses talk about why they call in—they have often partied the night before and are too drunk and/or tired to work the next day. Then they come to work when they are ACTUALLY sick and spread the illness all over the unit. I recently was sick for a solid week and the only person I was somewhat near was one of the Party Nurses who came to work masked but very sick. They also call in about 30 minutes before work to say they will be 2 hours late to work. (Our state has legislatively-mandated sick time allowances for which you can't discipline employees for using. It's not a lot of hours, but still, no discipline). OR, they are on-call and use that state sick time when I call them in.

I really do hear you, but.....let it go. Not one single bit of ^ that is something you can change.

Anyway.

So the question is what will you do about all of this? When I felt pushed beyond what is reasonable and achievable, I was angry for a very good long time. An embarrassing length of time. It took way too long to accept that the whole situation was just patently and truly ridiculous and therefore....so was my inertia. At some point, doing the same thing and feeling the same crappy things every day does become an individual choice. We can't expect others to change (that includes peers and especially corporations and management; it isn't gonna happen). If we are that miserable then *we* ourselves must make a change.

Take care ~

IntegrativeRN · Apr 25

I'm sorry for your very real stress and burnout when you are giving 1000%. It is palpable through your post. To me, you sound like an absolute hero for even attempting to fill both absent nurses' shoes and function as charge at the same time and yet, it is an unsustainable situation. At my last hospital, Charge could step in on a single patient that was tanking (cardiac) for brief periods but was not permitted to accept full patient loads. On call or float would come in to keep Charge free. You may not single-handedly be able to change the for-profit nonsense and party call-out culture on your floor, but you must protect yourself. If the powers that be are willing to "blacklist" you for not taking on a doomed management position, they are willing to burn you when a patient situation goes south because of your split attention. Your only real choice is to hold their feet to the fire to provide an acceptable float when on call calls out or insist they will lose your many years of experience and deep patient care.

HiddenAngels · Apr 26

Sounds like economics. Judging from your post it seems you are unappreciated and devalued. Time to cut your losses. If they are that comfortable knowing that you are going to swoop in at any moment and bail them all out, let them fall.

Invest elsewhere.

MochaRN424, ASN · Apr 30

This is why as a MBU nurse I will not be charge because of what you have listed above. As someone who calls out when truly sick I'm sorry that your peers are doing what they are doing. But as nurses we don't even get any mental health days. On my unit they have tried to see if a nurse would come in even if she isn't the type that abuses call outs which I don't agree with. Black listed because you didn't want to accept a position you didn't feel good about? I don't know how dedicated you are to the current hospital sounds like you need to start if not already begin looking for another job. You aren't appreciated there!

C.Love, MSN, NP · May 1

I would start looking for a better place to work. It doesn't look like management is supportive and nurses that don't take profession serious enough that they are partying on a night before work and then not able to fulfill their work responsibilities. With all of you experience you will most likely be able to find a job a better place. I wish you luck.

FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN · May 1

I am dealing with the burnout by getting my APN. I have 1 year left at a reputable school, and I already feel ready to practice. I have always found nursing to be challenging but the last 5 years have been unbearable in most settings. It did not get better after covid, it got worse, because the bad conditions remained and the pay went down.

You can run from this, and I won't discourage that, but you may wind up job hopping indefinitely unless you make a longer term plan.

I blame your hospital for not covering callouts. They need more per diem/pool staff. The chaos-dumpster I'm working in presently told me no per diem positions were available when I applied (I'm part time). They need coverage every single day for every single shift, so what that tells me is that they don't care about running short, it's part of the plan. It's horrible and I hate it, but I get through it because it will be over soon for me.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · May 2

Consider calling your facilities Employee Assistance Program for support and advice. Facility EAP I retired from provided 3 free counseling sessions + could provide counseling resources in my area, ways to deal with facility management in addition to work-life balance ideas + education resources free of charge.

((HUGS)) to you.

Career Columnist / Author · May 5

Once you see the broken things, you can't unsee them. Nurses cope by either lowering their standards and sinking to the norm of such a unit or by remaining constantly frustrated.

Have you ever thought about working as an educator or in Staff Development? You have a passion for evidence-based care and so much to offer. Very best and good luck.