Counseling for the Broken Nurse: What a Concept

Nurses are the givers and fixers, the healers and nurturers, the "go to" people.  We are the stronghold of traditional healthcare in our society.  We are the implementers of orders, the stop gap, the patient advocate.

We are the glue that keeps our shift together.  We are the care plan developers, the care coordinators, the documentors.  We are the IV starters, the medication administrators, the assessors.  We are code runners, the presence which soothes, the toe-taggers.  We are the clean up crew, the punching bag, the center of the patient's experience.  We are the bearers of bad news, the clergy, the teacher, the psychologist.  We are the ambulators, the lower extremity elevators, and safety monitors.

We are punched, hit, spat upon and subject ourselves to increasingly toxic body fluids and surroundings.  We do all this and more in a shift, and then go back for more.  We are accountable to our facility, their bottom lines, our patients. 

We become jaded.

We experience difficulty with communication, harrassment and feel underappreciated for what we do.  We encounter increasingly alarming amounts of responsibility to satisfy payor sources.  Sometimes, we don't sit down for 13 hours.  Hardly ever do we eat lunch.

We are so tired.

Our co - workers are strong and weak, experienced and green behind their ears, bitchy and soft, everyone experiencing their own phase in their career, everyone giving off and absorbing the energies of others.

We burn out.

We begin to respond to others and to circumstances through a veil of self protection.  We cry on the way to work, we cry during our shift, we cry on the way home.  We feel completely misunderstood.  We question why we "did this" to begin with, encourage nursing students to quit while they are ahead and experience panic and dread.

We are broken.

What access do you have in your facility to address nurse burnout?  Have you ever contacted your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) who then referred you to someone who half heartedly commiserated with the difficult profession that nursing is, and then they informed you to "learn how to relax"? 

Why, for the sake of all that is mighty and good would you place a 2x2 on the gaping wounds of your soul? 

Once identified, nurse burnout is entirely treatable.  Not only is nurse burnout treatable, but during your healing process, you will be able to cycle back to your past, revisit trends, then cycle forward with fresh and bountiful new perspectives.  You will actually experience joy and balance in your life.

Counseling is imperative, as it will not only save your profession, it can enhance your life, change your perceptions of your surroundings, and energetically beautify the lives of those whom are fortunate to be in your company. 

Please.  The time is now to Nurse Your Spirit.