As The Burned-out Nurse Practitioner, I discovered three reasons why nurse practitioners are prone to burnout and why it is important for nurse practitioners to change this!
An article by Kapu et. al. (2021), declared 60% of APRNs have been or are currently burned out (might be a little low, don’t you think? Also, sorry to bring back the APA format. =)
Healthcare providers were burned-out before the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are now struggling.
We have seen insurmountable physical, mental, emotional pain and suffering. Not to mention, we are now required to see more patients, higher acuity patients to make up for lost revenue.
Healthcare burnout is real.
Nurse practitioners are there.
We are stressed. We are tired. We are exhausted.
We. Are. Burned. Out.
Other than the global pandemic, why are APRNs burned-out? Why do we struggle with work-life balance? How does this happen?
Nurse practitioners are prone to burnout
Below, we will discuss three reasons nurse practitioners are prone to burnout. It is important to acknowledge that nurse practitioners are prone to burnout so we can better identify signs and symptoms of nurse practitioner burnout.
Nurse practitioners are taught to do no harm.
Through our educational background, we were taught to do no harm to our patients. I’m not talking about intentionally harming patients, I’m talking about making an error. We were taught that mistakes such as medication errors, patient falls, or not following practice guidelines should never happen.
Don’t get me wrong, patient safety should always be number one. However, our training has designed many of us to be perfectionists. We are taught to not mess up because a mistake could have fatal consequences.
Do you worry and stress about a clinical decision being the correct one? This negative mindset is show nurse practitioners are prone to burnout.
Let us strive to complete safe practice and give excellent patient care. Look at all the tools healthcare providers have developed- SBAR, prescription alerts embedded into our EHR, online tools and resources to give us easy access to information.
But let’s not beat ourselves up for making a mistake. We are humans. We are bound to make mistakes and we learn from them- that is how we grow. Let us remember we are not perfect. Let us change the fact that nurse practitioners are prone to burnout.
The modern healthcare system.
The modern healthcare system is failing us as providers. It is a major cause of healthcare provider burnout. I am sure you are aware of the vicious cycle that is taking place. Healthcare costs increase as restrictions from healthcare insurance companies also increase.
Administration is telling us to do better. There is a constant push to see more patients. Sicker patients. We take on more tasks but need to do so in less time.
I went into nursing to make a difference in patient’s lives. I thought I would have enough time to hold a patient’s hand and have deep conversations. After starting my first RN job on a med-surg floor I was shocked with the amount of daily tasks and stress.
We are being pushed to our limits as healthcare providers. We don’t feel like we can actually help our patients because of lack of time, lack of help from staff, lack of resources. Nurse practitioners are prone to burnout because of the modern healthcare system.
Nurse practitioners care too much.
Nurses and nurse practitioners have always been known for their compassion. We truly care about our patients. We care about our coworkers and colleagues. But we also care about our families and friends.
We give our time and energy to our patients and our jobs. APRNs are constantly behind on charting, reviewing diagnostic results, and returning patient’s phone calls. We empty our glasses at our jobs because we care.
We have nothing left to give to our friends, our families, ourselves. We feel stressed, tired, and burned-out. This is a significant reason why nurse practitioners are prone to burnout.
Unfortunately this creates shame and guilt for not having enough to give to our families. Healthcare burnout is destroying our personal relationships. Our work-life balance is severely skewed.
We feel shame for going to a job we used to love but now hate. We feel guilty for putting our own lives or families lives at risk because of Covid-19. We wish we could spend more time with the people we love. Instead we are suffering from mom/dad guilt.
These negative feelings dig us deeper into burnout. We need work-life balance. We need to find a way to put our families and ourselves first. We need to turn burnout upside down.
Overcome nurse practitioner burnout
We have discussed three ways why nurse practitioners are prone to burnout. But what do we do about the burnout? How do we overcome stress and exhaustion?
Unfortunately, there is no magic wand to wave to make the burnout disappear. Overcoming nurse practitioner burnout is multifactorial and different for every advanced practice registered nurse. While we can’t fix our issues overnight, but we can support each other.
I challenge you to open a conversation with other healthcare providers. Nurse practitioners, medical doctors, doctors of osteopathic medicine, physician assistants, pharmacists, nurses, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, mental health therapists, literally any healthcare personnel in all fields of medicine.
We are all struggling.
We need to support each other, work together, help each and every provider.
That is why I have created The Burned-out Nurse Practitioner.
My mission is to support you, the overwhelmed, ready to quit healthcare, burned-out nurse practitioner.
Let us rise to overcome this nurse practitioner burnout, together.
References
Kapu, A. N., Borg Carol, E., Jackson, H., Kleinpell, R., & Kendall, J., Krauser Lupear, B., . . . Dubree, M. (2021). Assessing and addressing practitioner burnout: Results from an advanced practice registered nurse health and well-being study. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 33(1), 38-48.
(Don’t check my APA format, I must have blocked it from my mind post grad school).
For more information on overcoming nurse practitioner burnout, check out
This online, self-study course will teach NPs the framework and mindset shifts to create a better work-life balance and overcome nurse practitioner burnout.
Burnout Resolution for Nurse Practitioners
For time management and charting tips, check out The Nurse Practitioner Charting School– The one stop for all documentation resources created specifically for nurse practitioners. Learn more at www.npchartingschool.com
**Full disclosure, this blog post may include affiliate links. I do receive a commission if any of the affiliate programs/services/supplies are purchased. This is at no extra cost to you but does allow me to continue to provide content as The Burned-out Nurse Practitioner! Thank you!
**Full disclosure, this blog post may include affiliate links. I do receive a commission if any of the affiliate programs/services/supplies are purchased. This is at no extra cost to you but does allow me to continue to provide content as The Burned-out Nurse Practitioner! Thank you!
