February 2022 Burnout Among Oncology Nurses Working in Outpatient Settings

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  • #731
    shalvoy.1
    Keymaster

    I agree with you all in that I am also surprised that outpatient had greater burnout.
    Our outpatient nurses tend to be more experienced RNs. Maybe having been through ups and downs in nursing earlier in our careers enables us to handle this period of increased stress. Allowing us to think that this too shall pass.
    I don’t believe that our administration thinks of outpatient nurses having more stress than inpatient. It would be interesting to do a survey on this.
    Katie- I agree that maybe there should be more focus on mitigating stress in the outpatient areas. I am going to Congress this spring and will be asking people from other hospitals what they do for their outpatient RNs to reduce burnout.
    Melissa stated we could have a room with a massage chair in each building. This is a great idea, the cost of this would be outweighed by saving money on onboarding new staff. We need to be able to get nurses out of the clinic or infusion area to take advantage of this though. With charge RNs frequently in staffing no one is available to give breaks.
    Kasey you are correct we did have respite rooms. They moved around. I think Amy Rettig was in charge of this. I will ask her about it.
    I have to tell you all that I am constantly impressed by the incredible way you care for our patients regardless of what you are going through personally or as a unit.
    Please take care of yourselves!

    #732
    hsu.243
    Member

    Hello, my name is Stephanie. I am also JCRU float nurse.
    What was the knowledge gained from the article?
    The comparison of burnout among nurses were interesting. The differences in gender, age, and years of experience all affected how nurses experienced burn out. It is interesting to see nurses are less satisfied in non-Magnet hospitals and how that impacts nursing burn out due to staffing issues. Emphasizing the importance of that status, for staff and patients. I also found interesting that they found emotional exhaustion was higher with the older nurses in the outpatient setting. Suggesting that the development of relationships with their patients to be harder to manage than acutely taking care of a patient for a short duration.

    What other questions does the article raise about current practice?
    How can we empower nurses and give them opportunities to feel more in control? If we know this empowerment helps nurses cope with burnout, why are we not utilizing this? Is it due to its limitations and the need for the nurse to have self-reflection of their own inner strength and empowerment?

    Do you agree/disagree with the conclusions of the author, why?
    I agree with the findings that both journals shared that the most often used coping mechanisms among oncology nurses were spirituality, coworker support, relaxation therapy (massages), and debriefing sessions. I have found these also are my own coping mechanisms.

    #733
    hsu.243
    Member

    Kelly
    I agree the age was interesting with burnout. I also agree that during this pandemic nursing in general has had to perform differently than before. This unfortunately has caused many to leave nursing all together, some unfortunately to burnout. It would be nice if we could have more opportunities to support one another. The massage chair sounds amazing, unfortunately I will not be taking part in that 😉

    #734
    hsu.243
    Member

    Kate,
    I agree, I miss tea for the soul too. It was so nice to see Dr. Byrd’s wife during these little sessions, she would even bless your hands. It was seriously 2min of your time. I always felt comfort, I miss her.
    I think its wonderful how a simple thing as a massage can be so successful in reducing stress. The moments of silence and the human touch. We can all benefit from slowing down and self care.

    #735
    hsu.243
    Member

    Melissa,
    I agree the investment on massage chairs and that service to staff would totally be beneficial. If they did a comparison on the cost of new staff and training them verses costs of maintaining staff I am sure they could save money. It would also decrease nursing burn out, help manage their stress, and anxiety related symptoms.

    #736
    vanmeter.87
    Member

    Kelly, thank you for organizing the chair messages, that is so awesome! What a great way to help provide self care to your peers.

    Michelle, I agree with you that we need to prioritize self care. I think that nurses get so used to taking care of everyone else, (patients and family) at work and at home that we forget to take time for ourselves. It is something that I for sure need to be more mindful of.

    Renee, I think you brought up a good point. Out patient nurses are usually more seasoned so may average “older”. It may be the reason why they registered as higher stress. I have always thought that experience grows resilience but it could be the opposite but exercising resiliency may increase stress. It is food for thought for sure.

    • This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by vanmeter.87.
    #738
    shawver.25
    Member

    Michelle- your statements are so accurate. I have noticed that in recent years my joints have started to hurt more and more. In light of recent years the mental side of things has been difficult as well. (Hence why these articles are so important to discuss and bring to light).

    I recently saw an article online (not a scientific article but rather just a news source) that mentioned how a few travel nurses reported safety concerns to a hospital in Alaska and then they were fired for reporting the concerns. In the article it was saying that patients should have been in the ICU with ventilator/ bipap and were instead on a medical surgical floor when they had beds available in the ICU.

    Gabel.164- you also raise so many good questions and alarming statements. How can management explicitly reject vacations when we have earned the time without giving an alternative? If I were told I can’t take a vacation at all I would be looking for another job.

    #740
    burk.109
    Member

    1- What knowledge was gain from this article
    This article was very enlightening in the fact that it shows burnout in the nursing field is among both women, men, young nurses, and old nurses. Burnout in my opinion and more prevalent now that when I first started nursing. I do believe that enjoying the peers you work with helps with burnout. I imagine those that do not have this close connection with their staff tend to burnout much quicker.

    2- What other questions does this article raise about current practice

    Seeing as burnout is being experienced by many nurses in the field, I often wonder what upper administration can do to help retain and ease the feelings of burnout. I am sure that things like increased availability for time off requests, especially in months where the weather is nice and sun is shining would help. Many units do not allow more than 2-3 nurses off at time for vacation, particularly in prime time, so increasing this availability in my opinion would help with satisfaction and ease burnout. The sun shine and warm weather does a lot for the soul but when you are working 10-12 hours per day, multiple times a week you are not enjoying this and I believe that burnout is likely to happen.

    3- Do you agree/disagree with the conclusions?

    I do not disagree with this article in the least. I actually think that the incidence of burnout is likely much higher than reported. Unfortunately, I think that if the culture of nursing is not changed, there may an even larger shortage of nurses for the years to come.

    Megan Burk

    #741
    burk.109
    Member

    Melissa,

    I too agree that things like massage as listed in this article can help alleviate stress from staff. Working at a non magnet facility in the past I too agree that staff is definitely given more resources at Magnet certified facility.

    #742
    burk.109
    Member

    Kasey,

    I agree that I think since the start of the pandemic some of these offered resources have gone away. I feel like when I was working at OSUE that we were offered these types of things quite often. Maybe its the timing and the pandemic but it would be nice to have some of these services offered again. Also, to be able to be given time to utilize these services when they are offered.

    #743
    gabel.164
    Member

    I have several more years in this profession I’m ready to work with my employer to figure out how to make staff feel valued.

    #744
    wine.40
    Member

    Hello,
    My name is Lee Ann, After 5 years working oncology inpatient, I have been working the past 2 years as an outpatient clinic RN.

    What was the knowledge gained from the article
    In reading the article, I found that my personal definition of burnout and the signs accompanying it as somewhat different from those included by the authors. I learned that burnout has a number of potential causes, many of which are beyond control of nursing staff. I found the authors findings on inpatient versus outpatient clinic burnout interesting. The massage chair article reinforced the importance of taking breaks away from the job, even if it does not involve a chair massage.

    Will the research/information in this article change or influence your practice
    Yes. The article pointed out to me the need to reach out to co-workers who may be struggling with burnout and see if they want to talk about it. I am concerned about the stress levels I see in pcas, jpas, and other care team members as well.
    The information in the massage chair article will influence me to try to take lunch break daily and to do what I can to encourage a unit culture of taking 30 minutes away for lunch. This will be a challenge for me.

    Do you agree or disagree with the conclusions of the author
    This 2013 study suggests that organizations should design strategies that increase opportunity for sharing and support among co-workers as a way to decrease burnout. I agree that supportive work relationships are important. I often feel skeptical of “strategies” designed by organizations. In my opinion, in 2022 working conditions is the issue that needs to be addressed. I believe the current burnout problem lies in asking the nurse to do too much with too little.

    I like the idea of spending 20 minutes in a relaxation setting, as long as all workers are also able to find the time to step away from their duties for a lunch break on a daily basis.

    #745
    wine.40
    Member

    gabel.164 I agree with your thoughts about changing your work setting when you realize it isn’t working for you. I would hope a person might opt for a change of nursing specialty or location first, rather than leaving the profession entirely – but we all need to do what is best for our situation. Having the wisdom to realize you need to make a change is a good thing. In my opinion, a devastating result is when nurses with severe burnout don’t leave the profession.

    #746
    wine.40
    Member

    Dear Kelly – Thanks for the interesting articles and for taking the lead for journal club this month. The burnout factor that spoke to me was job satisfaction. I believe that a safe and well-staffed work environment would help to alleviate the emotional burden that accompanies oncology nursing. Not having the time to provide the level of care and attention deserved by the patient adds to the emotional burden carried by oncology nurses.

    #747
    conrad.369
    Member

    Melissa I love the idea of a Zen room. Stepping away from chaos seems to be my best weapon when I’m feeling overwhelmed. Kelly- I agree with Shalvoy.1 you do a great job on process improvement through unit council. You recently play a big role in coordinating chair massages for the group and I am so very thankful for your time!

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