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  • Essay / Caring for the Caregiver - Causes and Strategies to Prevent Burnout

    Nursing is one of the most rewarding and respected professions. The growing number of patients, coupled with increasing complexity, has posed challenges in the workplace, putting nurses at risk of negative consequences (Neville and Cole, 2013). Negative consequences not only affect nurses at work, but can also affect family life and health. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Nurses often care for others while putting aside their own needs. Nurses tend to engage in poor health-promoting behaviors, which puts them at risk of developing compassion fatigue (Neville & Cole, 2013). “Compassion fatigue is the end result of a progressive and cumulative process, caused by prolonged, continuous and intense contact with patients, use of self and exposure to stress, which manifests itself in physical consequences , social, emotional, spiritual and spiritual marked. intellectual changes that increase in intensity” (Neville and Cole, 2013). In a study by Mullen, he found that only 34% of nurses recognized compassion fatigue (Neville and Cole, 2013). Based on this figure, Mullen inferred that nurses need to engage in self-help initiatives to avoid or manage compassion fatigue. Fellow nurses and colleagues should also be aware of the signs and symptoms of compassion fatigue and help raise awareness among their friends. Florence Nightingale stated that nurses should not harm their own health (Neville and Cole, 2013). Implementing health-promoting behaviors is linked to a decrease in compassion fatigue. Nurses who continue to give of themselves without taking time to recharge are less able to care for others (Stark, Manning-Walsh, & Vliem, 2005). Nurses must learn to recognize when stress levels reach their breaking point. Patients are the priority, but nurses must also put themselves first. As stated previously, if nurses cannot adequately care for themselves, it is very difficult to be able to care for patients. Nurses must be able to recognize fatigue not only in colleagues, but also in colleagues and themselves. Burnout can be the result of stress. Stress is different from burnout. Stress involves many pressures that demand too much from the person physically and mentally. Burnout is feeling empty and tired, emotionless and beyond caring about people and things. People who are burned out see no hope and are not positive about their current situation. If you are used to a lot of stress, you may not realize when burnout occurs. (Mental Health and Wellbeing Help Guide, 2018)Research highlights that prolonged emotional exhaustion in nurses leads to cynicism, poor interpersonal relationships, and sometimes even an inability to function in a crisis . Essentially, our brains are telling us that we are not good enough or don't have the energy to perform at a certain level, even if it is required by higher acuity patients. It's discouraging and nurses can't give their best to patients. (Spence Laschinger, HK, et al., 2015) Other factors of burnout include lifestyle and your,.2015.03.002