Good Example Of Burnout in the Nursing Workforce Essay
Nurses are among the most important healthcare professionals in managing and treating the problems faced by people. They have also played an essential role in treating people during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this pandemic has resulted in a high level of workplace stress among nurses. This stress could be associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and burnout among nurses. It has been reported that in 2011, about 14% of nurses were found to have workplace stress and PTSD, whereas the percentage increased to about 70.4% in 2020, which could be due to the pandemic.
It is estimated that workplace stress will negatively affect the nursing workforce. On a further note, a reduction in communication among the nursing workforce aggravates the stress-related problems in the workplace. Therefore, it is imperative to work on appropriate interventions to reduce the rate of workplace stress and burnout. This paper aims to work on mindfulness techniques that could be considered an appropriate intervention for the nursing workforce (Tolouian et al., 2022).
Sample Details:
Pages: 4
Words: 1093
Date Added: March, 2022
The study of workplace stress, burnout, and the treatment of these problems is vital for nurses, as they could affect the work of nurses. For instance, workplace stress and burnout could negatively affect the work of nurses and patient-related outcomes, thereby requiring appropriate treatment. Workplace stress and burnout could also be linked to a lack of proper communication, anger, and hostility among nurses while decreasing compassion and empathy, associated with undesired outcomes. Combining these issues for a prolonged period could cause them to become chronic and can eventually be associated with more negative emotions, a reduced level of cognition, and a reduced level of memory.
Aside from the cognitive and memory-related issues, the nurses’ bodies could also start experiencing decreased immunity levels and elevated levels of cardiovascular and gastrointestinal disorders, along with changes in endocrine functions (Tolouian et al., 2022). In the article, Tolouian et al. (2022) also presented physiological responses caused by workplace stress. For instance, they noted that the amygdala forms the most critical part of the neural system, significantly processing threatening and fearful stimuli.
An individual’s body develops fear-related behaviors in response to these threatening and fearful stimuli. The frontal cortex shrinks during chronic stress, and the amygdala increases in size. The frontal cortex is associated with regulating emotions, and when the size of the frontal cortex is decreased, its ability to process emotions correctly decreases. The condition worsens with the increase in the size of the amygdala, which causes the body to behave just like in a situation of fear or threat. These processes cause the individual to develop inappropriate behavior and show unwanted responses, such as illogical thoughts, apathy, atypical aggression, and emotional or physical harm. Considering all these aspects, it can be said that workplace stress and burnout could affect patient-related outcomes and the work of nurses (Tolouian et al., 2022).
One of the treatment strategies in workplace stress and burnout is the use of mindfulness techniques. This technique is vital for the nursing workforce, as it relates to paying attention to purpose nonjudgmentally while living in the present moment. The mindfulness technique is also beneficial in calming the nursing workforce and helping them communicate more effectively with other people. It is also helpful for nurses in developing more awareness about their feelings. In this regard, one of the techniques is the Capacitor, which acts on the part of the brain related to emotions and facilitates the development of a balanced life. This technique helps relieve the body of excess energy. Nevertheless, the mindfulness technique is realistic to support the nursing workforce (Tolouian et al., 2022).
To deal with the problem of workplace stress and burnout, healthcare administrators and leaders need to hire a sufficient number of nurses so that the burden of work on nurses can be reduced as much as possible. Moreover, these administrators and leaders have to respect nurses’ power and energy. For instance, they have to assess the abilities of individual nurses and place a burden on them according to their strengths. On a further note, they can also develop training programs to improve the skills and skills of nurses, not only to work to their fullest but also to overcome workplace stress and burnout. The training programs can also target the purpose of nurses and the development of a meaningful and exciting environment. For example, nurses may start doing more work without getting stressed through the development of sense and a productive environment. The training programs could help in converting nurses’ jobs into their passion, and it would be beneficial for nurses to work on their love with total energy and with a reduced level of burnout.
The mindfulness activities to which the nursing workforce will be exposed could help overcome workplace stress and burnout. These activities could be used to develop a healthy environment at home and the workplace. The mindfulness activities could be of different types, including:
- Development of nonjudgmental behavior by stopping the mind from keeping on judging every aspect of the job.
- Development of patience by understanding that other events and incidents occur at their own time.
- Development of a child-like mind that is wide and open to possibilities.
- Development of trust.
- Acceptance of the current situation and being thankful for the conditions.
- Result of non striving behavior in every aspect of the job.
Positive change associated with mindfulness activities in the nursing workforce could be attributed to the connection of the minds of the nursing workforce with their bodies and developing an understanding of their strengths in overcoming stress in the profession (Tolouian et al., 2022).
One of the most critical points that have been learned from the study conducted by Tolouian et al. (2022) is that the nursing workforce is under a high level of stress. This increased level of stress could be due to the increased level of work-related burden on nurses, but it is also due to the preliminary work on the strategies that could be used to overcome stress. Healthcare settings are experiencing more patient-related work, and they are continuously trying their best to provide optimal services to the patients. Still, they are ignoring the work-related stress faced by nurses and other healthcare providers. The healthcare settings have to improve the patient-related outcomes, but they also have to consider the healthcare provider-related outcomes. They have to make interventions, such as mindfulness techniques, essential for their workplace settings.
References
Tolouian, A., Wholeben, M., & Rankin, D. (2022). Teaching Mindfulness to Mitigate Burnout in a Pandemic. Journal of Trauma Nursing, 29(1), 51-54. https://doi.org/10.1097/JTN.0000000000000631