Need a nurse to respond to a few interview questions...

[maggiefrancis]

Hi everyone!

I'm doing my final analytical report for my technical writing class on the effects of nurse burnout in the US and how staffing ratios, as in those implemented in California, have helped to solve the problem. I need to have some interview questions answered to include in my report, so if I could get any nurse out here to respond to the following questions in as much detail as possible, I would greatly appreciate it! It's totally anonymous, I just need some insight from the nurses themselves. Reading about nurse burnout is one thing, but getting feedback from nurses who've gone through it gets more to the heart of the problem and helps me to provide a more accurate picture of this issue. If I get more than one response, even better;)

1) Are there staffing ratio limits in the state where you work?

2) What does your shift schedule look like (8 hour, 12 or more hours per day, etc)?

3) Have you experienced the effects of nurse burnout in your career at all, and how has it manifested itself?

4) Has there ever been a time when you or one of your colleagues has made a mistake due to exhaustion, stress, or low staffing issues?

5) Are there any changes you would like to see made on a state or federal level, to help solve this problem, or at the very least, lighten the load on nurses and help to provide better patient care?

If you would like to add any info, please feel free to do so, as I want this report to be as accurate and thorough as possible.

Thanks!

[Motherofcorgis, BSN, RN]

1) Are there staffing ratio limits in the state where you work?

I work in California currently where there are ratio limits, but I am a military nurse and work in a MTF and because of that the Federal Government does not have to abide by state ratios. I work on a tele/PCU ward where the CA limit is 1:4, but we routinely have 5 patients and can take up to 6.

2) What does your shift schedule look like (8 hour, 12 or more hours per day, etc)?

12 hour shifts

3) Have you experienced the effects of nurse burnout in your career at all, and how has it manifested itself?

YES, mostly I find myself getting frustrated with patients and their idiosyncrasies more often than before. I've had to turn inward and ask myself where was my frustration coming from. Was it really the patient or was my patience running thin? 9/10 it was my own attitude causing my poor mood.

4) Has there ever been a time when you or one of your colleagues has made a mistake due to exhaustion, stress, or low staffing issues?

Not that I'm aware of, but certainly stress could have played a part. As a military nurses we have many other stressors than just staffing issues (though we suffer from those as well). Impending deployments, collateral duties, mandatory training (on days off) etc. all play a part in stress and exhaustion.

5) Are there any changes you would like to see made on a state or federal level, to help solve this problem, or at the very least, lighten the load on nurses and help to provide better patient care?

I think that nursing ratios should be a FEDERAL law, not state by state! Military nurses can suffer from burnout and poor staffing just like the rest of the country!

[maggiefrancis]

Thanks soooo much for your response, I really appreciate it!!

[JKL33]

I don't believe in "nurse burnout" as the term is thrown around. I do not consider any highly predictable consequences of poor workplace environments to be primarily problems with individual employees. Therefore I do not accept the incorrect labeling of nurses as "burned out."

When I say poor workplace environments I'm referring mostly to 1) Poor staffing 2) Serious culture concerns, such as actions and policies that are ridiculously out of line with stated mission 3) Lack of focus on actual excellent patient care, with an alternate focus on appearing to provide good care