An exclusive interview: Inspiring radical self-care & self-worth among nurses

Burnout is not a new thing - it's been exacerbated but it's not a new thing. The first time I felt burned out was as a nursing assistant - which we don't talk about enough. If you were someone who experienced that, having 30 patients in one night is not the way to do it, and that voice is definitely not heard. That was the first time I experienced burnout - to the point I even questioned going to nursing school because I was a nursing assistant before, but I was able to manage it. Then as a nursing student, we feel some kind of burnout, the anxiety, the loss of control, the not knowing, sometimes support and sometimes lack of support. I think that's maybe the first burnout that our profession feels. After that, your first clinicals, your first job - where you're the new person and you're excited and again you start feeling this lack of control in your life and in your schedule. You might not know exactly what type of boundaries to put up, and you're still working on your assertiveness, like saying, “No, I cannot take another patient,” or, “no, I need to eat.” Basic needs. If it was one time it wouldn't be as hard, but it's a chronic process that happens on a daily basis. You don't see the end of it, so you're like, “I cannot stand this for so many more years.” That's one type of burnout, the other is, “how do I grow in this career? Do I see myself doing this, the same thing, for 30? years? After two years, you're a little more adept in your work, you feel more comfortable, and you're like, “where should I go? What should I do?” Then it’s finding these ladders or skills - that's how I've done it, diversified what I’ve learned so I can do everything I want. Those have been the burnout experiences I've had, just really unsustainable environments and the lack of real clarity on where to grow and how and when to do it. We have these very antiquated theories of nursing that once you have five years experience, you're worth something better. Each person is different and brings different experiences and grows at different rates. We need to see every individual as they are, and tailor their growth to their needs. Some people might want to be in one position for who knows why, and that's what makes them comfortable and happy - that's okay, too - support that. Some nurses never want to be a charge nurse, some nurses never want to teach anything because their heart is somewhere else, and that's okay.

Andrea Jaramillo, BSN, RN, is a deeply experienced nurse, and has worked in multiple fields. Right now, she works in the Boston area as a hospice nurse on the multicultural team with Good Shepherd Community Care, a clinical nurse consultant with Healthero.io, and a clinical research nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Institute for Patient Care. She also teaches an annual workshop on Mind Maps at Harvard Medical School’s Macy Institute. Searching for some healing during the pandemic, she became a certified forest therapy guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and earned a wilderness first aid certification. A champion of nursing innovation, she also earned a certificate of Nursing Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Leadership from Drexel University.

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