“Burnout” is a word used to describe the combination of workplace stress, compassion fatigue, career burnout, lack of work support, and emotional contagion. In a nutshell, it’s the psychological distress and lack of job satisfaction experienced by healthcare workers. It is well documented that nurses experience work-related stress, but in the older staff you have a higher level of burnout, psychological distress, and job dissatisfaction as these stressors are compounded by time and pandemic fears.
The healthcare sector has lost close to 1.4 million people. One pertinent offender is burnout. Many who have quit have done so out of sheer exhaustion, fear for their safety and an inability to provide care at the standard they set for themselves—additionally increasing the likelihood of burnout among those who remain are low clinical staffing levels. Burnout affects women workers more often than males in all sectors, and it has been disproportionately leading to their departure from the job.
Occupational stress for the newly qualified nurse can be challenging, as they are trying to overcome the learning curve, while gaining an understanding of the healthcare industry that may be surprising to them, including the mental weight of seeing patients sick or dying regularly…it can be a lot for anyone.
Lack of communication and lack of empathy are signs of burnout in a staff member along with more and more careless mistakes. Although it is not always easy, it is possible and important for nurses and healthcare professionals as a whole. especially those in leadership roles to find ways to be less stressed and less overwhelmed. If those in leadership are overwhelmed at work they will find it nearly impossible to eradicate it within their respective departments.
Below are tips to lessen the exposure of high levels of stress, burnout, and exhaustion among your dialysis staff member while at the same time alleviating the side effect of detrimental impact on organizational productivity that poses a serious health and safety hazard to your staff and patients. These solutions will help you retain your best employees, equating to optimal patient satisfaction.
Recognize Burnout Among Your Staff
Numerous hospitals and healthcare systems struggle with nurse retention and burnout, but the problem is more pronounced among dialysis nurses. In the United States, burnout affects one in three dialysis nurses. This is because these nurses tend to be more overworked, underpaid, and sometimes unappreciated than their counterparts in other disciplines.
Nurses who were older and had worked in hemodialysis the longest had higher satisfaction levels of burnout than younger nurses. Hemodialysis nurses experience high levels of burnout even though their work environment was favorable and they had acceptable levels of job satisfaction. It’s important to get ahead of a potential problem of staff walk-outs or surprise resignations by being aware of the signs that a problem is brewing.
Your staff member may be burnt out if they:
- Calls in sick often
- Often arrives late for shifts
- Having problems with employees with whom they used to get along well with
- Missing deadlines or is often unable to do things promptly
- Often requests to leave before the conclusion of their shift
How to Avoid staff Burnout
1. Examine the calendar
Burnout is often brought on by demanding greater hours from frontline workers. Regular scheduling and limited overtime may aid in reducing stress, avoiding burnout, and enhancing employee retention. It is advisable to have a core schedule, where employees have a set of shifts or specific hours each week, publish schedules two weeks in advance, and allow employees to switch shifts.
It may seem contradictory and impractical to have flexible hours and eight-hour shifts during times of limited employee hours but using this strategy to sustain the psychological well-being of those picking up the slack is essential so they do not join the exodus, aiming for these criteria is essential
2. Create enduring interpersonal connections
Another effective strategy to avoid staff burnout is for seasoned nurses and nursing practitioners to form close bonds with coworkers outside of the workplace. Our nursing strategist advises that nursing practitioners create an additional support system to those provided by human resources departments, managers, and supervisors during times of high stress. This will allow experienced nurses to mentor less experienced nurses as well as provide their best advice for avoiding burnout.
Strong interpersonal ties at work and home are essential in preventing nurse burnout. Nurses may cope with high-stress circumstances by talking to someone about their emotional discomfort and how to manage personal and professional responsibilities. Although nurses may seek assistance from coworkers and bosses, it would be helpful to have a close friend or family member outside of work who can listen to their worries and provide the emotional support necessary to help them feel present and prepared for their next shift.
- Establish Limits Between Your Personal and Professional Life
One of the most effective strategies for employees to avoid burnout is to practice self-care and mindfulness. This entails managing one’s shift schedule as much as possible and avoiding taking on too many obligations at once. Taking PTO or vacation time when feeling overwhelmed can be a key element to not exacerbating the problem.
Being a nurse can make prioritizing relationships and maintaining a work-life balance difficult. It is helpful for management to assist the healthcare workers within their department, although simpler said than done, to leave work at work. Creating boundaries around not constantly calling the same staff members in on their days and times off, unless requested, so that when their shift is over, they can relax and consciously make a point of leaving any thoughts, sentiments, and complaints about work at the facility and concentrate on decompressing, spending time at home with loved ones and engaging in things that they find enjoyable.
What Can Be Done To Lessen Stress Among Dialysis Staff
Compassion Stress, also known as compassion fatigue is a contemporary label used to express personal exposure to trauma regularly. It can be difficult, even for the one experiencing it, to distinguish the difference between compassion fatigue and burnout. I think it’s safe to say that burnout is the precursor to compassion fatigue. Empathic and caring nurses can become victims of the continuing stress of meeting the often overwhelming needs of patients and their families, resulting in compassion fatigue. Creating a plan to adequately support traumatized staff members and nurses who have a longstanding history of witnessing tragedies experienced by patients and their families can go a long way in setting your hospital and facility apart by showing you care, which is a key retention strategy.
Compassion fatigue affects not only the nurse in terms of job satisfaction and emotional and physical health but also the workplace environment, causing a decrease in productivity and increasing turnover. It is important to utilize a proven strategy to prevent and minimize the ramifications of repeated exposure to traumatic events in the clinical workplace. Within a hospital setting, increasing direct patient care time and better-using nurses’ talents is a key strategy as a measure to retain nursing personnel.
Lessen Career Burnout Amongst New Dialysis Nurses
Another problem that’s being ignored, in contrast to nursing programs in other specialties, nephrology nurse programs often lack efficient recruiting and support systems for new nurses. The specialty exposes nursing students to the industry between their junior and senior years of school. This offers the nursing students field experience while letting their nurse mentors see how well they handle patients, for example, or how hard they work. These nursing students often apply to the hospital and department where they interned, which may make an externship program an affordable resource.
Although they may sometimes feel that they must be all things to all people, nurse managers are passionate about nursing. The best ones make sure that the work demands on new nurses and new dialysis technicians don’t cause chaos in their dialysis unit. This may be done largely by simply speaking with the healthcare professional to measure their stress levels or by studying their call-off habits or physical health.
It Is Not An Option To Do Nothing
Despite so many competing and demanding concerns, particularly financial obligations, some measures to minimize burnout surely seem challenging, if not impossible.
Doing nothing is not an option, even when we cannot do everything to prevent burnout. Proactively working towards resolving this problem is essential for retaining and satisfying employees. If shorter shifts are not feasible at this time, giving workers the option of more frequent breaks could be. There may be a place for your dialysis staff members to ponder in peace. Ask them for their thoughts and adopt a collaborative and supportive leadership style. Organizations may impact burnout by providing psychological support, building relationships with staff, and attempting to implement tactics like scheduling best practices.
By following these simple tips, you will always know what to expect and when to hire before you are left short-staffed. Having a quality staffing agency readily available for emergency staffing needs and proactive staffing needs is the optimal key to your facility’s staffing success.
For Dialysis Staffing Solutions
Don’t hesitate to call us!
We know how challenging it may be for you to locate skilled dialysis personnel. To a non-specialized firm, the search may be difficult and taxing due to the continuously shifting healthcare job market and continuing employee shortage. Choosing a staffing solution that understands the dialysis and healthcare industry from the inside out gives you an advantage over others. Hire us and you can rest assured that staffing your dialysis facility and the hospital is in good hands. We provide enthusiastic top talent to enhance your team and help your facility run smoothly. We are the answer you’ve been looking for.
What are some of your own best solutions to staff burnout? Share them with us below!