Giving When Running on Empty

Nurses are expected to give a lot of themselves every day during their shifts. Often these same nurses are giving a lot at home to their families. So many nurses who are expected to give so much their shift are coming on their shift fatigued. Combine that with the demands of being a nurse in a hospital, doctor’s office, or other medical facility, it is easy to see why compassion fatigue is common with those in the nursing field. Even with all the rewards of being a nurse and the good that nurses do, it doesn’t always balance out for nurses and they become burnt out and suffer from compassion fatigue.

One of the contributing factors to nursing fatigue, other than demands outside of the medical facility, is that many medical facility are expected to work with higher nurse to patient ratios due to the many cutback facilities are experiencing. With the cutbacks due to the poor economy, there are a lot of nurses who are suffering from compassion fatigue due to the ever-increasing patient load.

Nurses should be aware of the signs of compassion fatigue. There are some warning signs of compassion fatigue that nurses should be aware of, these signs include the following:

A nurses’ satisfaction in his or her job duties, as well as professional accomplishments, will decrease and continue to decrease.
A feeling of inadequacy, anxiety, irritability, restlessness or anger that is actually quite generalized and has no apparent source. This may cause the nurse to work harder in order to try to compensate for these feelings.
Nurses who suffer from compassion fatigue may notice themselves becoming depressed or suffering from low self-esteem. Denial can increase these feelings.
A nurse may no longer find enjoyment in anything either at home or at work.
This can also manifest itself physically in the way of migraines, GI distress, overall exhaustion, and disruptions in your sleep cycle.
Nurses who suffer from compassion fatigue may begin to abuse food (eating too much or not eating), alcohol, or even drugs.
A Nurse who normally has a lot of empathy and compassion for patients will find they less empathy and compassion.

Nurses shouldn’t ignore the signs of compassion fatigue because it can lead to depression. Nurses spend their professional life taking care of others and it is easy for them to focus on their patients and forget about taking care of themselves. Nurses need to take proactive measures to take care of themselves. This should happen before the signs of compassion fatigue are seen. Some of the things that nurses can do include:

Take care of yourself first. This means doing such simple things as eating properly instead of snacking on comfort foods. Proper nutrition will nourish your body and help stabilize your mood. This is especially important during long shifts.
Keep your life in balance. Take some time to talk to someone that you trust in order to figure out how to create balance in your life. Make sure that you express your needs, fears, wants, and desires.
Set boundaries and learn how to say “No” so that you can maintain those boundaries. There are positive ways in which to tell others “No” but it is important to do so. This will help you feel empowered and regain control over your life if you have felt that you have lost this control.
Spend some time alone on a daily basis doing your hobbies, taking a long walk, soaking in a hot tub, or other activity that you do because you choose to, not because you have to. This is a great way to get out of your rut and become recharged so that you can continue with your regular routine.

Compassion fatigue is not a character flaw; it is a sign of getting burnt out nursing. It is a very demanding job and nurses should learn how to take care of themselves so that they don’t develop compassion fatigue. Making sure you have enough uniforms so that you don’t have to do laundry frequently, have scrubs that fit, and have a nursing uniform that looks good is one way to take care of yourself. For high quality affordable nursing scrubs go to AllUniformWear.com.

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