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Online Companion: Fundamentals of Nursing Standards and Practice 2E
Frequently Asked
Questions
Many nurses complain
of feeling "burned out" in nursing. How can this be prevented or dealt
with in a stress-filled field like nursing?
The first step the nurse takes is to become aware of the stress that occurs
in the workplace. Stressors may come from the nature of the work in which the
nurse is dealing with individuals who are ill and anxious on a daily basis or
they may arise from interpersonal conflict within the work setting. When the
nurse accepts that stress is part of the daily routine in nursework, then the
nurse is able to appreciate the need to cultivate the hardiness factor. Hardiness
is a set of values, beliefs and behaviors that assist the nurse to be more resilient
to the negative effects of stress. There are three components to stress hardiness:
Commitment: becoming involved in what one is doing, Challenge: perceiving change
as an opportunity for growth, and Control: a belief that one can influence what
happens to oneself. On a daily basis, the nurse needs to incorporate self-care
actions such as taking time out for self, using effective communication skills
with co-workers, family and significant others, and managing conflict effectively.
There are alternative methods such as prayer, music, journaling and meditation
that can be useful to promote self-care.
A nurse who wishes
to be proactive in making changes on a clinical unit meets resistance from peers
and other staff on the unit. What strategies can the nurse use in this situation?
Initiating change is an expectation of the professional nurse. There are changes
in practice necessitated by technologic and scientific advances. It is the ideal
that change be planned and directed by individuals who are proactive. The change
agent has to be prepared for resistance to change. Resistance may force the
change agent to reexamine ideas to see if the outcomes of the change are worthwhile
to the unit. The nurse seeking change may select a theoretical framework such
as Lewin's or Lippitt's to analyze the unit situation. The nurse may also review
the reasons people resist change to understand which of these factors may be
operating on the unit. It is risky to initiate change because the outcomes are
not always predictable. The nurse acting as a change agent must be prepared
to be a risk-taker. The reward for the change agent is that this person can
affect the entire health care system as well as individual clients.
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