Nurse fatigue is getting a lot of attention lately. Why? It’s because studies show that when nurses get burned out – individual nurses, the nursing profession, health care organizations and ultimately patients SUFFER! Of course they do! When nurse don’t feel good about the work they do, it impacts their ability to engage in providing high quality, effective and safe patient care. Nurse fatigue has a negative effect on work relationships and our ability to communicate assertively.
Bottom line: Nurse fatigue is badness…pure and simple badness!
But nurses don’t have to become helpless victims of “the inevitable.” There are action steps they can take to not only reverse burnout but to actually prevent it.
In my previous blog posts on this topic I defined nurse fatigue and shared my #1 strategy to prevent/reverse. I’ve also started vlogging (blog on video) which you can view by clicking here!
My #1 strategy to prevent nurse fatigue is to COMMIT TO PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT.
When you commit to personal development, it acts as a force field around you, protecting you from the evil rays of fatigue and burnout.
My #2 strategy is to MOVE AWAY FROM NEGATIVE ENERGY
How many of you work with an energy vampire? You know the type…the ones who “suck the life” out of you every time you’re around them. They are all about inflecting gloom and doom on you and everyone around them.
Here’s the problem – we all have mirror neurons in our brain that mimic what we see. If we were in a room full of a lot of people and a few started to yawn, before you know it, everyone would be yawning!
It’s because of mirror neurons. The same is true for spending time with negative people. They say that you are only as good as the 5 people you spend the most time with. Hmm…you may be thinking that it’s time for you to get some new friends! But it’s true. If you give your time to negative people (the energy vampires), you will become more negative and burned out.
What do you do when you wake up in the morning or come home from work? Do you turn on the news or radio and listen to the stabbings, murders, tanked economy, etc?
Negative energy is negative energy – stay away.
The late Jim Rohn once said this, “You need to stand guard at the door of your mind.” If you really want to prevent nurse fatigue, then stand guard!
Action step: Spend time exposing yourself to positive energy – watch “feel good” movies (I love Nemo, The Blind Side, Billy Elliot, The Holiday) watch amazing videos of heroism on YouTube, hang out with people who are positive and who love life! And for Pete’s sake – start setting boundaries with the energy vampires! Think “Abort Abort” when you see them coming.
I hope this strategy helps you avoid or reverse nurse fatigue. All nurses should feel good about the work they do!
Thanks for reading. Take care and stay connected!
Renee
For more great tips, make sure you “like” me on Facebook,”follow” me on Twitter and YouTube and subscribe to my blog. Also, check out my new book on nurse-to-nurse bullying and my new eBook titled, Survive and Thrive: A guide helping new nurses succeed!
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