COVID-19, burnout may lead to nursing workforce shortage ‘in years to come’
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ORLANDO — Burnout and the personal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic among health care providers may lead to a long-term nursing shortage nationwide, according to a presenter at the 2022 Rheumatology Nurses Society Annual Conference.
“The combination of burnout and the pandemic could put the United States in a position of a nursing workforce shortage in years to come,” Carrie Beach, BSN, RN-BC, president of RNS and staff rheumatology nurse at the Columbus Arthritis Center, in Columbus, Ohio, told attendees.
To combat these effects, Beach stressed that self-care and positive thinking are critical to minimizing burnout and increasing resilience for health care providers.
In their talk, Beach and Teri Puhalsky, BSN, RN, CRNI, a member of the board of directors of RNS and a registered nurse at Medstar Orthopedic Institute in Alexandria, Virginia, covered the topic of burnout, defined resilience and offered strategies to build it.
“We are going to talk about the relationship between burnout and patient outcomes,” Beach said.
It is important to make the distinction between stress and burnout, according to Beach. She described stress as an over-engagement of emotions, whereas burnout constitutes a disengagement.
“Burnout is blunted emotion,” she said.
Of concern for nurses in particular, according to Beach, is that the emotions driving care and empathy are critical components of the job.
“When we start to lose that, we start to lose our ability to care for patients,” she said.
Recognizing the sources of burnout is necessary to manage it, according to Beach. Demanding workloads, job dissatisfaction, high rates of turnover and poor communication between colleagues can all contribute to burnout among nurses. Results of burnout can range from insomnia and headaches to fatigue and depression. This leads to absenteeism and turnover which can, in turn, lead to poorer quality of care in the form of medical errors.
“This is a patient safety issue,” Beach said.
According to Beach, cooperation between nurses and their colleagues and employers is necessary to minimize burnout. Health care systems need to develop strategies to enhance and sustain the health and well-being of their clinical workforce.
“We support our patients,” she said. “But who is supporting us?”
Beach noted that overcoming burnout means having appropriate autonomy, adequate staff and resources, and good working relationships in the workplace. Workplace empowerment is also helpful.
“Let nurses work at the top of their scope,” Beach said.
When nurses are working to their full potential, it is important to offer recognition of their efforts and achievements.
“Just to be recognized for something you have accomplished can be beneficial in reducing feelings of burnout,” Beach added.
According to Puhalsky, several factors contribute to resilience in an individual, including viewing change as an opportunity, recognizing the limits of control, and having personal goals.
“We know that maintaining positive relationships, having a good self-image and having a positive attitude can increase your resilience,” Puhalsky added. “A resilient person pushes past the initial discomfort and recognizes that there is greater satisfaction ahead.”
For nurses, Puhalsky encouraged the habit of leaving work at work.
“Your time away from work is your time to rest, rejuvenate and recharge,” she said.
Humor can also be critical in developing and restoring resilience, according to Puhalsky.
“Don’t be afraid to laugh, and often,” she said.
Although setting goals is important, Puhalsky urged nurses to make sure said goals are reasonable.
“Practice does not make perfect,” she said. “Practice makes better. You are never going to be perfect. You need to take that monkey off your shoulder.”
Physical activity, good nutrition and adequate sleep are all components of a lifestyle that leads to better mental health and high resilience, she added.
“Take up a hobby and don’t be afraid to say no,” Puhalsky said.
As for the final component of building resilience, Puhalsky urged RNS attendees to “take out the head trash.”
“Get rid of your inner critic, recognize it and call it out,” she said. “Celebrate all of your wins, but please don’t try to be a superhero, because you are not.”
Puhalsky asked attendees to consider one final question: “Nurses are the glue that holds it all together, but what holds us together?”
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Beach C, Puhalsky T. Provider Resilience: Practical Measures to Avoid Burnout. Presented at: Rheumatology Nurses Society annual conference; August 3-6, 2022.
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