So, lately I’ve been thinking quite a bit about us nurses. In particular, how we are in such a high burnout field. I work as a consulting nurse practitioner, in skilled nursing facilities, which I’ve been doing for years. Over the years, as I’ve gotten to know the staff better and as I’ve seen such high turnover in these facilities, I can’t help but take into account the high work demand these nurses face day in and day out.
And that was prior to the COVID-19 crisis! Its different now, and facilities are working overtime to stay in compliance with the constantly changing rules and regulations. The stress is through the roof for healthcare workers, and being from Florida, I am now witnessing everyday the incredible demands placed on the nurses and other healthcare professionals.
It was always the running joke from staff if I, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, would PLEASE provide counseling to the staff. Because they really need help relaxing, or someone to vent to. Whether the complaints are work load, lack of managerial support, more and more documentation demands, all while still needing to provide great nursing care, many are finding they are managing all they can, and unfortunately all too often I walk in only to find the best nurses, the ones we WANT taking care of our aging parents and grandparents, have left. We are after all only human, yet we are pushed further and harder as we are needed to keep up with the increasing demands of the ever changing healthcare world. We are witnessing nursing burnout among us everyday.
My website focuses on stress reduction and anxiety management, and so I feel the need to begin addressing this burnout pattern occurring all too often with our nurses. We get into nursing because we want to help people, we want to feel we are making a difference, and we want to do this with our own unique personality and touch. We all know nurses are in demand, which is great as far as job security is concerned, but can become negative if we don’t learn to balance our state of wellness with our careers.
If you feel you could benefit from a Wellness Health Coach, feel free to contact me at zaffut@gmail.com.
Dr. Suplick-Zaffuto
