Page 221 - Essentials of Nursing Leadership and Management, 5th Edition

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Assessing Your Risk for Burnout Questions for Self-Assessment
Do you feel more fatigued than energetic? What does the term health mean to me?
Do you work harder but accomplish less? What prevents me from living this definition of health?
Do you feel cynical or disenchanted most of the time? Is health important to me?
Do you often feel sad or cry for no apparent reason? Where do I find support?
Do you feel hostile, negative, or angry at work? Which coping methods work best for me?
Are you short-tempered? Do you withdraw from friends or What tasks cause me to feel pressured?
coworkers? Can I reorganize, reduce, or eliminate these tasks?
Do you forget appointments or deadlines? Do you Can I delegate or rearrange any of my family responsibilities?
frequently misplace personal items?
Can I say no to less important demands?
Are you becoming insensitive, irritable, and short-tempered?
What are my hopes for the future in terms of (1) career
Do you experience physical symptoms such as headaches (2) finances (3) spiritual life and physical needs (4) family
or stomachaches? relationships (5) social relationships?
Do you feel like avoiding people? What do I think others expect of me?
Do you laugh less? Feel joy less often? How do I feel about these expectations?
Are you interested in sex? What is really important to me?
Do you crave junk food more often? Can I prioritize in order to have balance in my life?
Do you skip meals?
Have your sleep patterns changed?
Commitment
Do you take more medication than usual? Do you use alco-
hol or other substances to alter your mood? As you move forward to C, you will need to make a
Do you feel guilty when your work is not perfect? commitment to continuing to work on stress recog-
Are you questioning whether the job is right for you? nition and reduction. Once you have recognized the
Do you feel as though no one cares what kind of work you warning signs of stress and impending burnout and
do?
have gained some insight into your personal needs
Do you constantly push yourself to do better, yet feel frus- and reactions to stress, it is time to find the stress
trated that there is no time to do what you want to do?
management techniques that are right for you.
Do you feel as if you are on a treadmill all day?
The stress management techniques in the next
Do you use holidays, weekends, or vacation time to catch
up? section are divided into physical and mental health
management for ease in reading and remembering
Do you feel as if you are “burning the candle at both ends”?
them. However, bear in mind that this is really an
Adapted from Golin, M., Buchlin, M., & Diamond, D. (1991). Secrets of
Executive Success. Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale Press; and Goliszek, A. (1992). artificial division and that mind and body interact
Sixty-Six Second Stress Management: The Quickest Way to Relax and Ease continuously.Stress affects both mind and body,and
Anxiety. Far Hills, N.J.: New Horizon.
you need to care for both if you are going to be suc-
cessful in managing stress and preventing burnout.
Physical Health Management
Belief Nurses spend much of their time teaching their
Now that you have done the A part of stress man- patients the basics of keeping themselves healthy.
agement, you are ready to move on to B, which is However,many fail to apply these principles in their
belief in yourself. Your relationship with your own lives. Some of the most important aspects of
inner self may be the most important relationship health promotion and stress reduction are reviewed
of all. Building your self-image and self-esteem in this section: deep breathing, good posture, rest,
will enable you to block out negativism relaxation,proper nutrition,and exercise (Davidhizar,
(Davidhizar, 1994). You must also believe that 1994; Posen, 2000; Wolinski, 1993).
your destiny is not inevitable but that change is
possible. Be honest with yourself. Truly value Deep Breathing
your life. Ask yourself, “If I could live 1 more Most of the time, people use only 45% of their lung
month, what would I do?”—and start doing it capacity when they breathe. Remember all the
(Johnston, 1994). times you instructed your patients to “take a few