What happens to the nurse when role stress or strain becomes too overwhelming? What happens to patient care? How is this related to possible ethic and legal issues? Discuss how nurses can manage or reduce role stress and role strain.

Issues leading to Nurse Burnout

Information from 24 papers studied by Dall’Ora et al. indicates that various burnout factors are connected with psychological job pressures and factors fundamental to the job. One of the significant issues leading to nursing burnout is psychological expectations. The greater the psychological expectations, the more likely it is to experience all burnout symptoms, and high psychological expectations were related to a higher risk of emotional exhaustion.

 

As for the barriers, emotional demands have an impact on burnout. The nursing staff was more prone to undergo emotional exhaustion and pessimism when providing care for patients who were experiencing pain and patients with various needs (Dall’Ora et al., 2020). Caring for a terminally ill person and making an extensive series of decisions to abandon life-sustaining therapies were also linked to a higher risk of burnout (Dall’Ora et al., 2020). Pressure from care delivery was linked to a higher overall burnout level. Therefore, in order to bypass burnout caused by high psychological demands, it is crucial “to create space, slow down, and take time to think” (Waddill-Goad, 2019). Moreover, there is a need to separate oneself from the situation and act rationally, accentuating the fact that these are responsibilities.

Another big issue that often leads to burnout is role strain. A scenario in which conflicting, competitive, or inappropriate demands are imposed on an individual by two or more positions held concurrently is referred to as role stress (Dall’Ora et al., 2020). Since role strain is frequently connected with burnout and dissociation, it anticipates emotional exhaustion. The consequence of emotional dissonance is commonly stated as a conflict between the emotions that are felt and the emotions that organizations expect to be expressed (Dall’Ora et al., 2020). Emotional dissonance mediates the relationship between job elements, such as workload, patient factors, team difficulties, and emotional exhaustion and pessimism. Therefore, in order to bypass burnout caused by role strain, it is vital to create a strong network of supporters who can guide this individual and help with necessary tasks.

Experience of Strain and Burnout in the Nursing Profession

From my experience, I can say that I have experienced strain that led to burnout in my nursing profession. I have experienced the impact of high expectations imposed on every nurse in the field. I was required to deliver high-quality care to my patients while maintaining a calm attitude. As a result, the situation turned out to be highly overwhelming since there was a feeling as if there was no chance for a mistake. In order to bypass the symptoms of burnout, I concentrated on my results and my influence on the lives and well-being of my patients. I have realized that being able to save lives and impact the views of patients is rewarding. The best strategies that helped me in my path of healing were a strong support network, involving my family and mentors, and resilience.

Hence, role strain and subsequent burnout can be immensely detrimental to individuals in the nursing profession. The consequences of the burnout and role strain on the nurses may vary, starting with a lack of job satisfaction and ending with acquiring habits involving smoking or massive alcohol intake. The result of this behavior can lead to ethical and legal problems concerning the health of the patients since the nursing personnel can lack attentiveness and thoroughness in such conditions. Two significant issues leading to burnout of nurses are high psychological demands and role stress. As a result, every nurse must pay close attention to their support network and work/life balance.

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