New nurse burnout

[nursetinabelcher]

I've been a nurse for 6 months and I'm starting to feel burnt out and uninspired in the specialty I chose.

Does anyone have any tips to deal with new nurse burn out?

[Okami_CCRN, BSN, RN]

I hear you loud and clear, I go through peaks and valleys in my specialty. These are some of the things I do to combat burnout:

-Therapy (helps to evaluate and reflect on my feelings/situation)

-No Overtime (I do not sign up for extra shifts or answer my phone on days off)

-Exercise (I find that it helps me relax, weird I know)

-Look for new jobs (I like to see what's out there)

[gemswanson90]

What specialty have you chosen?  It's difficult to offer advice without knowing your situation, yet I would have to say that it's common to get into the "real world" of nursing and realize that it's not textbook.  Is the pace too intense for you, is it personality conflicts?  Is it the hours?  Some nurses embrace 12 hour shifts, others would Never endure such a long shift.  Is the drive burning you out?  Sometimes, overeager new nurses accept a job offer without a blink, then realize that it's 45 minutes of a drive each way...every shift.  Pin down what exactly about this job has you feeling burned out.  Now that you're past the phase of "new nurse I'll take anything", and have yourself and your career more figured out,  you can probably make a more informed choice going forward.  You have no one to impress but yourself, so there is no shame in leaving a well-known big hospital to work in a clinic or smaller home health chain, for example.