Month: October 2017

Relighting Your Nursing Passion

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Career burnout is a hot topic with almost any profession, but it seems burnout is more common with nurses. Working 36 to 40 hours a week, whether it be in three 12-hour increments or four 8-hour increments, it is very easy to get tired of what we do every day, and sometimes our work takes a toll on our everyday lives — that’s usually how you know burnout is approaching.  I recently found myself coming home after a typical shift (which usually last around 13 or 14 hours by the time I get to clock out) and sprawling across my bed unable to move.  Nurses stand on their feet, sometimes sprinting around a hospital, for over 12 hours a day.  I come from a background where I used to workout every day while in school, but I didn’t realize how much more exercise I would be getting at work.  Also it’s not just a physical burnout some nurses feel — they also feel emotional and mental burn out as well.  I won’t go into details, but we all know the types of things we can encounter at work. It can be super tough.

I have found a couple ways that I try to prevent burnout from happening and keep the spark for what I love doing every day alive.  Sometimes the best thing to do is take some time off.  Most workplaces allow for PTO to be accrued and taken as long as it’s available.  I have planned a getaway trip to Nashville in January where I am allowing myself to take much deserved time off from work.  I also periodically request random days off, obviously in advance according to hospital policy, where I can spend time with my family or have a day to myself to do school work or things that I enjoy.  I find that when I have a week where I don’t work nearly as much as a typical week, I start to miss being there and it excites me to go back to work the next shift.  More importantly, if you are having a bad or stressful day at work – which I’m sure we all have or soon will have – I find that it’s best to take a quick break, calm down with some deep breaths, talk it out with a coworker, and quickly pick yourself back up and move on.

We have learned to be resilient as nurses and when we encounter very hard things at work — whether it be with a patient or personal news we may receive at work — we all know that we can’t bring emotions into the patient care area. I find the same adage helps with dealing with a stressful day at work that typically could be the breaking point with nurse burnout.  I recently had a very stressful day at work the other day, on the verge of tears, so I talked it out with a coworker to let out my emotions, picked myself back up, and went on in to the next patient room.  As long as we are caring for ourselves first and foremost, nurses are typically able to handle all facets of the job that are thrown our way.  Don’t forget, we’re just superheroes disguised in scrubs.

Sydney Adelstein is 2016 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Nursing. 

Fighting Self Doubt

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As a novice nurse, I experience a fair amount of self doubt. I work among some extremely talented and knowledgeable nurses. When I compare myself to these nurses with decades of experience, I sometimes feel discouraged and inadequate. I have been able to combat these feelings of self doubt with a few steps:

  1. Ask questions. If you don’t understand something- just ask. This is the easiest way to learn new things. If I’m getting shift report and someone uses an abbreviation I don’t understand, I’ll ask for clarification. If doctors order an intervention that I’m not familiar with, I’ll ask for the meaning behind the intervention. A lot of the times this occurs during bedside multidisciplinary rounds, so it creates a learning moment for everyone.
  2. Educate yourself. A major perk of working at a teaching hospital is the large amount of continued education and specialization classes offered. If I feel inadequate in a certain area of my practice, there is always an educational opportunity available to help me combat that inadequacy. For example, last year I took care of several immigrant patients, which I had minimal experience with. I found a continued education class on providing care to the immigrant population and now feel better prepared to work with this population.
  3. Get involved. I recently joined the Critical Care Quality and Education committee and am working with other ICU nurses to provide education to our units to improve care. For example, OSUWMC just rolled out the Yale Swallow Evaluation, which is a tool developed to determine whether patients are able to swallow safely or if they need a formal speech therapy consult and swallow evaluation. Our committee received education on the evaluation and we in turn presented the material to our units. In other words, the best way to learn is to teach!

In summary, be proactive in your practice. When you feel inadequate, reflect and determine why. It’s scary being a new nurse, but you’ll have tons of resources at your fingertips and lots of people to help you along the way!

Kate Best is 2015 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Nursing.