Short Survey for Nursing School!

[smarties1234]

Hi everyone,

I am a nursing student trying to learn more about burnout amongst registered nurses. Please answer this short survey to help me out! Thank you in advance.

1) 1) how long have you been nursing?

2) 2) where have you worked as a nurse?

3) 3) how do you define burnout?

4) 4) what are your personal experiences with burnout?

5) 5) how have you dealt with burnout? if you have not experienced burnout, why do you think that is?

6) Do you have recommendations for new nurses to prevent burnout?

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

1. 3 Years

2. Med-surg, rehab, tele, ED

3. Emotional and physical job related stress that does not go away

4. Don't have any

5. I separate work life from home life. Relax on days off. Don't pick up overtime unless I want to even if asked. Know a bad situation when you're in one and get out ASAP.

6. See #5

[frozenmedic]

You'll just have to take my word for it that I'm a real nurse but here goes:

1) 4 years

2) Mostly hospital- ICU and med-surg, some peds private duty on the side

3) The combination of frustration, desperation, cynicism, anger, and apathy from the inescapable reality that the good aspects of your job are far outweighed by the bad ones.

[COLOR=#000000]4) I deal with it on a low-level basis every day. I resigned from one position due to burnout causing physical symptoms that I didn't want to experience anymore. Since moving to a new position, things are better, but now I look at what I do as just work. Nursing is not a passion or even particular interest of mine now.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#000000] [/COLOR]

[COLOR=#000000]Looking at things logically though, I know that my frustrations are so much smaller than that of my patients, and this rationality allows me to do my absolute best for patients when I'm at work, but I don't pick up overtime, extra shifts, or volunteer for any unit committees. I limit my time spent nursing to be able to do a good job while I am actually nursing.

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[COLOR=#000000]5) Decreasing my commute time to work, working in unit with a culture that I enjoy more, limiting nursing hours as above, getting more exercise. Blatantly ignoring the waves of coworkers getting questionable advanced degrees for administrative, non-patient care positions that will one day be telling me what to do from behind their desks and rolling chairs. Consider other career options on a regular basis.

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6) For the students: realize that you aren't committed yet. Think hard about why you think you want to be a nurse. There are dozens of allied health professions that you probably don't know about, from OT/PT and SLP, to lab techs, surgical techs, perfusionists, hyperbaric techs, and ultrasonographers. It is entirely possible that one of those careers better suits your interests.

For new nurses: try hard while you're at work. No matter how burned out you are, you'll feel worse if you know you're doing a bad job. Try not to be grumpy/angry from burnout at work. You're so much more likely to make a mistake when you're thinking about your own feelings rather than what you're doing. Prioritize good coworkers and unit culture over a particular patient group.