From Minding the Bedside; Hi, Do You Ever Feel Burned Out With Challenges?

Published: Thu, 10/25/12

Hello ,

I hope that life is treating you well.

I just wanted to share a recent interview that I did for the blog, My Burnout Thing, by Megan Hills. This blog, who's tagline is: "Finding Your Inner Flame Between Naps," is dedicated to the discussion of burnout of all kinds. Megan is an amazing cartoonist, business marketing and strategy consultant, and blogger. Basically, she's awesome!!

In this interview we discussed burnout as it relates to the nursing profession and how to combat it using meditative techniques. But, burnout prevention isn't just for nurses! Anyone can burnout either due to physical, emotional, or vocational pressures.

Here's the beginning of the post. Have a read and then follow the link to the rest of the interview and while you're there, explore the site. Enjoy!

Have you suffered burnout as a nurse, Jerome?
Yes, I have suffered from burnout. I think that it's hard not to, even if that burnout only lasts one or two days. As a nurse, there are times when you come into work and say, "Why the hell am I here?" Sometimes it's because you've lost one too many patients in a shift, or because your workload is too high. For me, and this has occurred a number of times in the ICU, my "burn point" has been around having to care for people who I just knew shouldn't have been in the ICU but should have been in hospice instead...