How to Prevent Burnout. Yes, it's a thing.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Benjamin Franklin.

In healthcare, we know the little things matter. We know that small interventions that promote health and prevent disease are often much more important in the long run than the aggressive interventions focused on treatment and cure.

Of course there are things with our health that we have no control over, there are illnesses that we may experience that are not modifiable by our actions prior to diagnosis. But even in those experiences, we know we can stack the odds in our favor by focusing on the parts of health and wellness that we can control.

The same is true for burnout. Burnout is NOT guaranteed just because you work hard in a difficult field. So often we focus on the treatment of burnout that we forget to focus on the prevention. We forget to focus on the support of thriving at work and in life. 

The opposite of burnout isn’t getting by, the opposite of burnout is thriving. 

And yes, it’s possible to thrive at work. 

And like any other aspect of health, thriving at work is not a destination, it’s a state that requires continued support, continued intervention.

We don’t eat healthy for years and then say, “I’m done, I’m healthy now. I’ve arrived. Let's switch to Doritos for breakfast.”

No, we work to maintain healthy habits because of how important we know it is, we know how we feel better when we do. (To be clear, I am not judging Doritos for breakfast- I just know how I would feel at 10am if I had Doritos at 7.)

It doesn’t have to feel like an obligation.

It doesn’t have to feel hard.

It doesn’t even have to be done with perfect consistency. (Yup, you heard that right).

It can start with a small change and habits can be stacked on as each gets easier.

Isn’t this reassuring? We can continue to work in healthcare AND be ok. If things stack up and we feel like we are sliding away from thriving and towards burnout, we can intervene because we know that this is treatable.

So what are the things that PREVENT burnout?

• Strong relationships, building a team 

  • This doesn’t have to be the people you work with although that’s a lovely place to start if possible. How can you focus on supporting the members of your team? This in turn will support you.

  • Is there a group of nurses that can be your people? I have found this through different professional organizations and through my Linkedin community.

  • Are there other people in your life that you can rely on for support?

• Self-awareness

  • Do you stop to pay attention to how you are feeling, what you are thinking?

  • Have you ever tried checklist journaling? No flowery sentences needed, just a list of what you are experiencing and why? It’s kind of like charting your own life :)

• Emotional regulation AKA making a new story

  • Look at your checklist journal. Do you want to believe all these things? Do you want to hold onto painful thoughts?

  • Can you find another way to look at things that are also true?

  • Can you let some of the painful things go as a gift to yourself? Can you decide not to entertain those thoughts anymore and redirect your thinking when they come up again?

• Maintaining interest

  • Can you lean into work instead of leaning out? Can you become involved with something?

  • Can you learn something new and practice it? (Like the options in this article?)

  • Can you take a class or listen to a podcast and incorporate that into your patient care?

• Gratitude

  • I know, I know. But have you actually tried it? If it was guaranteed to make you feel better would you take the time to write 10 new things each day that you are grateful for? It’s easy and it works.

• Finding personal meaning

  • This is a big one. Go back to your WHY. Why do you do the work you do? Why do you work on decreasing suffering in the world? What is the impact that you have on your patient’s or colleagues’ lives?

The list could go on and on.

Burnout is preventable. This doesn’t mean we have done anything wrong if we are already there. It means that there was a mismatch between our knowledge base, our skills, and our stressors.

We can learn these skills.

We can control our experience at work.

Not perfectly, not without effort, but definitely with impact.

I hope this gives you somewhere to start. Remember the little steps have the biggest impact.

I know you can do it, you’re a nurse 🙂

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Do you need a little extra 1:1 support? When I started this work for myself, I needed some guidance and accountability to help me make the progress (and get the healing) that I was craving. If this sounds like you, reach out today and let's set up a time to see how working together can help you thrive. Message me or directly schedule a time here.