Response-ms-07

Response one MS-07

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· Nurses are known as caregivers, and are usually not perceived of as needing assistance themselves.  It is incumbent upon the nurse manager to help their staff recognize the signs of burnout, and offer strategies to help avoid this frequent cause of nurses leaving their jobs.  Burnout in nursing occurs when the nurse no longer enjoys a job that once made them very happy. A burned-out nurse may become bitter and cynical, and may start to experience conflict in their relationships with other employees, friends, and family.  Nurse burnout can be caused by understaffing leading to increased workloads, lack of recognition or appreciation, and emotional exhaustion as a result of being caring and compassionate for long periods of time (Hunsaker, Chen, Maughan, & Heaston, 2015).  Lack of control over what nurses do and how they do it is also a frequent cause of burnout among nurses.  A nurse manager must be aware of the signs of burnout on the team, such as frequent absences from work, arriving late or leaving early, and tension between co-workers.  If these warning signs are present, it is the leader’s responsibility to recognize the situation and take steps to mitigate the stress and conflict within the team.

            There are a number of strategies that a nurse leader can utilize to avoid losing valuable nursing staff to the stress of burnout.  Lack of recognition is the number one reason for a nurse becoming unsatisfied with their employment and choose to leave a job (Medical Solutions).  A strategy that can be used by a nursing manager is providing a positive and detailed recognition of each employee at least once per month.  A monthly newsletter can be created where employee achievements, birthdays, and other positive events (births, marriages, etc.) are recognized.  This recognition will be an important factor in increasing staff job satisfaction.  Occasional after-work gatherings among team members for both social purposes and requesting ideas to improve working conditions are also another means to improve satisfaction and increase group cohesiveness.

            Finally, a nurse leader must be vigilant in detecting signs of staff stress, and offer help and validation of what the staff is experiencing.  Asking for, and accepting help must become part of the team culture, and must not be construed as a sign of weakness.  Additionally, reminding staff that they must take care of themselves through proper nutrition, adequate sleep, and frequent exercise will also indicate to staff that the management cares about them on a personal level.  And always remember that a sense of humor and fun will raise team spirits and contribute to a positive and productive team.

                                                            References

Hunsaker, S. Chen, H-C., Maughan, D., & Heaston, S.  (2015). Factors that influence the development of compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction in emergency department nurses. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing 16 (1).  Pp. 186-194.

Medical Solutions.  A manager’s guide: seven visible signs that your nurses may be suffering from burnout & how to prevent it. E-book. Retrieved from:                 https://www.medicalsolutions.com/wpmedia/2012/05/eBook-Preventing-Nurse-     Burnout.pdf

Response two –ms-07

            

According to Mudallal, Othman, and Al Hassan (2017) nurse burnout is a phenomenon characterized by a reduction in nurses energy that manifests in emotional exhaustion, lack of motivation, and feelings of frustration. These feelings can lead to resentment, decrease in job performance, and high turnover rates. I do not believe it is the sole responsibility of unit leadership to affect nurse burnout. I believe tackling such a difficult nursing issue is a team effort. Unit leadership should be aware of what is occurring on their unit. They should be in tune with their staff members, however, staff members should feel comfortable coming to unit leadership to discuss workplace strain. 

            As a team, staff members and leaders can come up with different team building techniques and have an open communication policy for reporting any lateral violence among their nursing staff. Strategies that can be implemented would include partnering new and more seasoned nurses together for mentorship. Jennings (2008) discusses the nursing role and the stressors that accompany such a difficult profession, both physically and emotionally. Nurses face both physical and emotional strain, as well as stressful situations such as heavy patient loads and understaffing issues. All of these stressors can cause escalating harm to nurses, both new and experienced. Identification of theses stressors and prompt response is essential in decreasing nurse burnout.       

References

Jennings, B. M. (2008). Work stress and burnout among nurses: Role of the work environment 

and working conditions. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2668/

Mudallal, R. H., Othman, W. M., & Al Hassan, N. F. (2017). Nurses’ burnout: The influence of 

leader empowering behaviors, work conditions, and demographic traits. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5798741/pdf/10.1177_0046958017724944.pdf

 

     Response three-MS-07       

It is definitely the members of leadership to implement strategies to manage burnout and prevent compassion fatigue.  As a leader in a military facility, it is my responsibility to manage my subordinates in my clinic.  One strategy that I use to help prevent burnout is physical training (PT) or simply put "exercise".  When I make my clinic's schedule I rotate time for my subordinates where they can leave work early and go work out at the gym, or wherever they like.  Being physically fit helps the body manage stress.  Additionally, I rotate work center assignments, giving my subordinates a different area of responsibility on a daily basis.  This prevents them from doing the same thing everyday.  It is important to practice good time management when it comes to burnout.

When it comes to preventing compassion fatigue, one of the best strategies the military teaches is resiliency.  One important area dealing with resiliency is recognizing someone's mental condition.  In a military medical facility we have access to mental health providers, behavioral health providers, and even chaplains for different religious faiths.  As a leader I must know how to refer or seek advice from these resources.  If a subordinate is in distress, I must not only recognize it but get that individual to a provider that can treat their condition.

Response Four MS-04

Leadership is absolutely responsible for implementing strategies to address burnout and compassion fatigue especially in nursing.  Compassion fatigue is defined as burnout secondary to traumatic stress that results in the caregivers’ inability to develop caring and compassionate relationships with their patients (Kelly, 2017).  The effects of compassion fatigue include emotional distress, apathy, loss of empathy, decreased patient safety and poor judgment (Kelly, 2017).  In the study conducted by Kelly, nurses reported significantly higher levels of burnout with low managerial support. The causes for burnout and compassion fatigue are related to work environment, not addressing secondary traumatic stress events and ineffective leadership.  These issues are within the scope of leadership responsibility.

The consequences of not addressing burnout and compassion fatigue are poor nurse retention rates, poor patient outcomes, poor patient satisfaction and the negative financial impact on the organization.  Improving the work environment can be accomplished by recognizing nurse accomplishments, conducting debriefings after traumatic events and being accessible to the team for starters.  Implementing strategies to address compassion fatigue and burnout is not the sole responsibility of the manager, it should involve the entire leadership team within the organization however the manager does have the greatest influence within the microsystem they are managing.   

References

Kelly, L., A., (2017,May). Code compassion: A caring fatigue reduction intervention. Nursing Management 48(5), 18-22. https://doi.org10.1097/01.NUMA.0000515800.02592.d4

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