burn out

[sherrylynn 0]

any suggestions on how to get over burn out?

thanks sherry lynn

[mogreen 0]

You should remove yourself from the source of stress right a way and take a few deep breaths, you moght want to take a few days off to regroup. Hope that helps.

[sheronmartinez 0]

I agree. Sometimes just taking time off from work is the best relief from burn out. If your condition is more mental than physical, sometimes talking to a counselor is a good idea. Also, writing in a journal can help unleash what the real problem might be. I had a friend who was so physically exhausted from her nursing job, she retired early and said she "slept" the first year. Then after that, she felt better and was able to start working again in a different capacity as a hospice nurse. Hope this helps!

Edited September 25, 2008 by sheronmartinez

[heavenstar 0]

I know this is going to sound weird, but it really worked for me. I took a few days off and during that time, I regrouped and thought about what I wanted my job to be, what I wanted to see happen and how I needed to do it. Basically, I thought about how to make my job perfect. Then I went back to work and dropped programs that weren't working-- or that were more work than they were worth, added a ton of new programs-- everything I wanted to do. I had a new program every day of the week. I have never worked so hard in my life. (Except for last week when dealing with the hurricane, but that wasn't fun).

 

I worked on things that made me happy and because everything was new, the residents acted like they got a breath of fresh air. They attended more activities, they gave me feedback and they saw the potential of what could be done.

The next month I backed down again and slowed down a bit. Some activities I kept, some I dropped, and some were tweaked to better serve the residents. But, I was over my burn out because I had a new lease on my job. The staff even commented how wonderful everything was and it was getting new participants in programs-- they even had fewer complaints from the residents.

 

Some of the "new to us" programs I did was:

Ice Cream socials every week (the only thing that cost money-- and it was about $35 to feed 100 people)

Houston Symphony at our facility, then a different musical group came every week

Scrapbooking

Starbuck's Coffee College

Administrator's Hour (residents come and talk to the admin, ask question, complain, etc)

Pumpkin Carving

Sip and Solve (puzzles and coffee)

Game Day-- board games

Breakfast Socials

Music by Request (volunteer plays music from CDs)

Chair Exercise classes