How to Avoid Nursing Burnout

High levels of stress and burnout often strike nurses. Heavy workloads and difficult situations can be the norm. Nurses who learn to identify and deal with their own stress gain the most in their role as helping professionals. Follow these steps to avoid nursing burnout.

Instructions

1. Build in decompression time between the end of your shift and jumping into family activities. You might sit quietly or write in a journal during this transition time.

2. Enjoy your time off. Distance your mind and activities far from work. Spend free time engaging in hobbies and with people outside of work.

3. Relieve stress with relaxation and aerobic exercise. Exercise and relaxation tools relieve tension that builds up in the mind and body. Humor is effective against stress as well.

4. Contact administration or your nursing union regarding the need to improve work conditions. Better pay and benefits along with more reasonable patient-nurse caseloads empower nurses and reduce the stress that leads to burnout.

5. Involve yourself in a good support system. Talk to nurses you admire about how you're feeling. Consider talking to friends, family or counselors for an outside perspective about your feelings of burnout.

6. Take advantage of inservice opportunities and continuing education focusing on occupational stress. Groups can be especially helpful in showing you that you're not alone in your feelings.

7. Check other nursing opportunities when confronted with long-term stress. Sometimes a change of shift or specialty can renew the feelings that attracted you to the nursing profession.