Helping professionals have a high risk of burnout.

Burnout and compassion fatigue are the result of the intensity, significant responsibility, lack of control and decision making powers, and a culture that has unrealistic expectations of nurturing and self-sacrifice from helpers.

Burnout Defined

Burnout is physical and emotion depletion caused by an intense involvement in a situation in which the person has little control and recognition. Burnout is most likely to occur in situations where an individual perceives little effect from his or her efforts. Burnout can be caused by unrealistic expectations and demands from an outside source, or from idealistic goals, perfectionism and unreasonable expectations of oneself.

Common Symptoms of Burnout

Those working in a high stress environment may experience many of the warning signs of burnout. Some of the most common symptoms are:

Ø Increased absenteeism Ø Avoiding or rushing through patient care Ø Rigid rules and "by the book" approaches Ø Dehumanizing patients Ø Anger and emotional outbursts Ø Increasingly cynical attitudes Ø Boredom Ø Stress from work interfering in social and family relationship Ø Physical symptoms of stress such as headaches sleep disturbance and tiredness.

Organizational Steps For Prevention of Burnout

The system itself is often not conducive to self-care. Administrators and supervisors don't always recognize or concern themselves with the level of stress experienced by nurses. They are often under tremendous pressure themselves. If you are lucky enough to have a supervisor/administrator who is concerned with the needs of the nursing staff, here are some suggestions that they might consider adopting to support the staff.

Ø Rotate staff as much as possible in order to distribute difficult patients and assignments Ø Include staff in discussions of rotations, and stress reliever suggestions Ø Build group cohesiveness by regular trainings, discussions, in-services Ø Let staff suggest topics Ø Encourage peer support Ø Offer recognition for success, and excellence Ø Vary professional responsibilities Ø A monthly newsletter with updates and kudos is always appreciated Ø Let staff know it is all right to ask for a "stress break" Ø Watch for signs of significant stress in staff, and offer them help.

Asking for and accepting help must be part of the culture within the organization. Admitting to being stressed must be accepted and not viewed as a sign of weakness. It takes time to build the attitude required for this level of openness to occur. Although administrators at first might see these suggestions as daunting, they will soon see their efforts rewarded with lower staff turnover, fewer days of absenteeism, a more productive and satisfied staff, and improved patient care.

Helping Ourselves Prevent Burnout

If you work in a situation where support from administration is not forthcoming, you must do what you can both as an individual and with your colleagues to prevent burnout. In situations where administrative support is lacking, there is often a high turnover of staff. This creates increased responsibility and more stress on the remaining helpers. It makes it more difficult to build a supportive cohesive group, and increases staff burnout.

Page 1 of 2 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 | Next