6 Tips for Nursing Students to Combat Burnout
Contents
Burnout is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion caused by long-term stress. The World Health Organization describes burnout as an occupational phenomenon marked by exhaustion, mental distance from your work and reduced effectiveness. Nurses don’t only experience burnout on their job; it also affects nursing students preparing for that demanding work.
A nursing degree demands hard work for memorizing, understanding, analyzing complicated concepts, and solving case studies and scenarios. Many nursing students go through a challenging period where they try to do everything on time but end up experiencing burnout.
The efforts required by nursing students, coupled with their other daily life responsibilities, family and social engagements, etc., make their degree even more overwhelming. Ultimately, a time comes when they feel detached and disinterested and on the verge of quitting.
Like nurses, nursing students can be seriously affected by burnout. Feeling disinterested won’t let you concentrate on your studies properly, which can matter for your future patients. Therefore, you must take actions to combat burnout. If you are a nursing student, here are some tips for you.
1. Dedicate time for self-care
Studying late at night, getting up early, and attending classes all day long is part of nursing students’ lives. Their busy schedule often doesn’t allow them to focus on themselves. However, focusing on self-care is essential to prevent burnout.
Nursing students need to dedicate some time in their day to self-care and to do what they like. Saving half an hour daily for activities like yoga, meditation or time in nature may help ease the mental and physical exhaustion caused by your academic responsibilities.
One way to manage your time is to go for online education. It is especially suitable for RNs going for BSN. An online RN to BSN degree lets you manage your time more effectively and helps you continue your job.
Many online programs let you study on your own schedule instead of keeping pace with a live class. That flexibility can make it easier to fit in work, rest and self-care.
2. Pick the nursing field of your choice
Students feel burned out when forced to study something they don’t like. Do you also get up every day wishing you were not required to attend certain classes?
Nursing students who are not passionate about their educational choices are more likely to feel burned out. Therefore, if you always feel detached from your field and dread attending classes, reflect and ask yourself if you like the domain you are studying.
Asking yourself these questions will help you look for solutions. You might realize that the problem is not with nursing in general but with the area you are focused on. Trauma and emergency care may not suit you, while you might excel in geriatrics, pediatrics or community health.
Nursing offers many paths for specialization, and most are chosen through clinical experience and further training after you graduate. If you feel a misfit in your current area, talk with an academic advisor about clinical placements or electives that fit your interests.
3. Choose the right degree program
You can get your nursing degree in many different ways. There are fast-paced programs, bridge programs, and general nursing degrees.
You might have enrolled in a fast-paced program to get your degree in a short time. But this fast-paced program might be burning you out. Always choose a degree program according to your learning capacity. A normally-paced program might take more time to complete, but it will prevent you from getting engulfed by stress and harming your performance.
4. Make a schedule
It is easy to feel overwhelmed with assignments, homework, skill labs, simulations, and projects. But sometimes, it happens due to an absence of a proper schedule and time management.
Invest some time in designing your schedule. Never forget to include breaks in between various tasks during the day. When you have a thoroughly planned daily schedule, you feel in control of your day. Also, making a schedule allows you to make time for non-academic activities that help combat burnout.
5. Exercise every day
The benefits of exercise on physical health are well-known. Physical activity helps your heart, muscles and sleep. Exercise has mental health benefits as well, and it is a proven way to reduce stress.
In a small four-week trial of working adults and students, regular exercise was linked to combating burnout, with less stress and emotional exhaustion. Physical activity also improves mood; you may feel more lively and energetic during the day regardless of your tough academic life.
The CDC recommends that adults get 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, such as 30 minutes of brisk walking on five days, plus muscle-strengthening activity on two days.
6. Unplug from technology regularly
A major part of a nursing student’s day is spent working on a computer/laptop, listening to lecture recordings, making assignments, and so on. Too much reliance on gadgets makes you stay in your own cocoon and get detached from your family and friends. Spending time with your loved ones can be a real source of stress relief.
Therefore, unplug from technology occasionally, spend time with your family and friends, and play with your pets.
When to Get Help
If exhaustion, low mood or anxiety last for weeks, talk with your school's counseling or student health service, or your doctor. If you have thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 in the US.
Conclusion
Nursing school will always be challenging; after all, it prepares its students for a crucial role in society. So, there will always be times when you struggle with your life and academics.
However, the tips above can help you lighten the load and reduce stress, which may lower your risk of burnout. They won't remove every challenge of a nursing degree, but they can help you cope.
Sources
- Burn-out an "occupational phenomenon": International Classification of Diseases, World Health Organization
- Reducing workplace burnout: the relative benefits of cardiovascular and resistance exercise, PeerJ (PMC)
- Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
