Avoiding Burnout
Burnout may be far off or just around the corner. The pressures of a specific season in your career can drive you to difficult breaking points. Patient ratios, work/life balance, and shortages on staff can bring all of these stressors to the surface even faster.
As a traveler, you’re constantly thinking about managing your current (and next) assignment, preparing for the day ahead, family needs, chores, when you’ll take your next vacation, finances, tax season, and a slew of other things. Stress is real! When it comes to managing all of the aspects of a busy career, burnout is real, too.
Travel Nurses take care of others first. It’s just the name of the game. However, that doesn’t mean you don’t have needs of your own and that don’t need to be taken care of as well. The more you can take care of yourself (see: Self Care 101) the better you’ll be prepared to handle things out of your control.
Here are a few items to adopt or build into your routine. Try one of these at a time or build in multiple Self Care activities over the course of a month and see which fit your life best.
Remember, being a Travel Nurse doesn’t mean you only care for others. You have to work at caring for yourself.
Sleep – by getting proper sleep you allow your body to recover/repair.
Try ditching the doom scrolling. Watch only one episode. Avoid eating late. Focus on getting yourself ready for sleep and give your body the opportunity to rest more.
Exercise to build a strong, resilient body and to relieve stress.
Get in the sun/outside - Even getting out for a 15-20 minute walk can improve your mental state, refocus your thoughts, and get your blood flowing.
Daily Foam Roller/Stretch Routine while relaxing at home. Have a favorite show to watch? Relieve some tension in your muscles while you Netflix and chill.
Hydration and proper nutrition to fuel body and mind.
Recommended intake of water each day is 2-3 liters. Use this as a starting point and increase as needed. (Also, better hydration can result in better sleep, healthier skin, and greater energy.)
Breath work to reduce stress that can be used anywhere/anytime. This may sound silly, but your body functions better when flooded with oxygen.
Box Breathing (4 seconds in, 4 second hold, 4 second exhale, 4 second hold, repeat) and the Physiological Sigh (Double inhale by extended exhale (see video below)
These are just a few starting points and ideas. What you do to avoid burnout may look completely different, but remember that caring for yourself will always help you care for others.
Be kind to yourself.