Nurse Burnout Symptoms – Prevention and Treatment

• A nurse has an important role in the prevention and treatment of nurse burnout.   
• The pandemic created extra staffing shortages which made it more difficult for nurses.   
• Nursing burnout symptoms need to be recognized and not overlooked in healthcare organizations. 
  

Nurse Burnout Symptoms and Covid-19

Nursing can be a very rewarding career choice and there are multiple avenues a nurse can choose that offer various opportunities.  Many involve the satisfaction of going home at the end of the day knowing that a positive impact in someone’s life has been made. 

On the opposite side, nursing can be very stressful at times such as during the COVID pandemic when many nurses felt the sting and the added stress from the overabundance of severely ill patients and experienced increased nurse burnout symptoms.  

In the healthcare setting, many nurses often preferred to work 10- or 12-hour shifts because they offered work-life balance and they gave the ability for extra time off to enjoy the things they loved (hanging out with family and friends, sports, hobbies, etc.).  

Extra Staffing Shortages

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many nurses to sign up to work extra days due to staffing shortages.  Healthcare organizations were short-staffed during the pandemic since a lot of nurses were falling ill to the SARS-CoV-2 virus or leaving their jobs for higher-paying agency jobs.   

In addition, since many of the facilities were short-staffed, nurses had to endure heavier nurse-to-patient assignments.  The working environment during the pandemic added to the nurses’ stress levels and many fell ill to mental health problems such as burnout and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Nurse Burnout Symptoms

Nursing burnout symptoms can present a number of ways.  The most common symptoms include the following: 

• emotional exhaustion  
• depersonalization 
• feelings of lack of personal accomplishments
  

Emotional exhaustion can lead to a nurse losing interest in doing anything.  It can also cause significant changes in sleep patterns.  A nurse might sleep too long since he/she dreads getting out of bed and facing another day, or he/she may have problems getting enough sleep since the chaos of the day keeps replaying in his/her mind.  Lack of sleep can compound the symptoms of burnout and lead to irritability, compassion fatigue, forgetfulness, and the inability to focus.   

Some nurses might revert to depersonalization as a coping mechanism for emotional exhaustion.  Symptoms of depersonalization can be noted in a nurse acting emotionally withdrawn, avoidance of social activities or conversations, and working as a zombie (just rushing through tasks and going through the motions).   

The feelings of lack of personal accomplishments can decrease a nurse’s job satisfaction and can lead to feelings of inadequacy.  When a nurse reaches this level, he/she may begin to think twice about quitting their jobs.

Nursing Role in Prevention and Treatment

There are several things an organization or a nurse can do to help prevent and treat burnout.  First, it is important to recognize burnout in oneself or in fellow co-workers.  Recognition is important so the nurse in question can seek treatment before he/she hits rock bottom.   

Some treatment options for preventing and/or treating burnout include the following: 

• Taking courses/classes on mindfulness and resilience.  Mindfulness is the ability to think in the present in a nonjudgmental way to understand the situation without reacting automatically and lashing out.  Mindfulness includes self-awareness and the ability to understand the triggers that might cause a nurse to react inappropriately.  Resilience is the ability of a person to adapt and bounce back after a traumatic event.  Some healthcare organizations offer post-traumatic event debriefings, which can help the nurses understand the situation and help them bounce back by learning from the situation – what went right and what they could improve on in the future.   
• Meditation 
• Prayer 
• Taking up an old hobby 
• Taking time off from work to enjoy a vacation 
• Talking to a friend or co-worker, and/or seeking counseling 
• Many healthcare organizations offer well-being programs that are free to their employees.  
• A counselor can help a nurse talk through their feelings and offer suggestions to help the nurse get back on his/her feet.  However, sometimes the burnout symptoms might be too severe and the only option a nurse has to maintain their mental health is to move on and look for another job.   

The Bottom Line

Burnout is a real phenomenon and occurs in all healthcare settings and can affect each individual in various ways.  The key to remember is that when it does occur, it should always be recognized and treated in such a way to assist the individual undergoing it to find the best balance and solution for each individual.   

Read More