Two-and-a-half years ago, I experienced severe burnout in my role as a night shift charge nurse in a cardiovascular ICU. This blog post shares my personal story, highlighting the common ingredients of burnout and the challenges I faced. Through this experience, I learned valuable lessons that can benefit both nurses and the health care industry as a whole.

Where it All Began

Transitioning from a clinical nurse educator to a night shift charge nurse in a new cardiovascular ICU was an exciting opportunity for me. However, it soon became overwhelming due to various factors. These included a surgeon I didn’t see eye-to-eye with, moral and ethical dilemmas in patient care, staffing challenges, and a hostile work environment created by lateral violence from coworkers.

Strained to the Breaking Point

As my anxiety grew, I struggled to meet expectations each night. While prioritizing patient care and my night shift team, I feared for our patients’ well-being. Frequently, we were overloaded with acute post-cardiothoracic surgery patients. Despite my efforts to manage admissions responsibly, I faced constant pressure. Doubts crept in, and I lost trust in myself and my ability to provide safe care.

The emotional toll affected my eating, sleeping, and overall well-being. I couldn’t disconnect from work.  When I was at work I feared when my surgeon rounded or if I would need to call him in the middle of the night because a patient’s condition was declining. When I was off, I was worried about how the patients were doing and if there was anything I might have done wrong.  It was nothing for me to randomly start crying at any moment.

I was afraid to leave because of the financial stability this position gave me and my family. But the last thing I wanted was to be responsible for a patient’s deterioration, or worse, a patient dying. I had to get out of there. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to be a nurse anymore.

Seeking a Solution

My story of burnout is unique to me, but it echoes stories from many other nurses. After resigning, I realized I didn’t want to be a victim of burnout. I embarked on a healing journey and learned valuable lessons about myself and the life I wanted to create. While personal shifts are important, I also believe tangible solutions within the health care environment can significantly impact patient well-being and nurse satisfaction. Instead of dwelling on problems, I embraced a mindset of seeking solutions. Here are some actionable suggestions to create a safer, healthier health care workplace.

Four Suggestions for Improvement

  • Suggest an acuity-based staffing model: An acuity-based staffing model, supported by research, adjusts nurse-to-patient ratios based on patient diagnoses and acuity. This allows nurses caring for higher-acuity patients to have a reduced nurse-to-patient ratio so they can be more attentive to patients’ needs and subtle changes. A nurse with a higher nurse-to-patient ratio will have patients with stable vital signs, controlled pain, and not showing signs of distress.
  • Advocate for leadership presence on night shift: Night shift nurses often face resource limitations and imbalanced skill mixes, including more novice nurses. Communicating the challenges to leadership and inviting them to experience the night shift reality can help bridge the gap between awareness and action. Trust me, leadership doesn’t always know how things really are.
  • Foster accountability within the team: Encourage a culture of mutual support and self-care. Don’t just come in each day to take care of your patients. Come in each day to take care of each other. Establish a buddy system to make sure you are taking your needed breaks, using the bathroom, and staying hydrated. By caring for each other, nurses can collectively prioritize well-being.
  • Provide a comprehensive orientation for new hires: Play an active role in onboarding new nurses, ensuring they feel confident, competent, and welcomed into the team. Reducing turnover is essential to improving staffing situations and maintaining the effectiveness of any new staffing model.

Drawing from my frontline experiences, I believe implementing these interventions can lead to positive changes in health care. Nurses play a pivotal role in the industry, and by offering tangible solutions, we can address the ongoing problem of burnout and improve patient care. Let’s make our voices heard and work towards a healthier future for patients and nurses.

Jenna Colelli, MSN, BSEd, RN, CCRN-K, is director of staff development for Wellington Regional Medical Center, Wellington, FL. In this role, she works to “mentor and empower nurses to care for themselves so they can better care for the patients we serve.”