As you ventured into the field of nursing, were you expecting to find a sense of purpose in the diligent and capable care of patients who rely on you? You most likely have found genuine and well-deserved fulfillment, putting your ideals into action, but stress and nursing burnout may sometimes cast dark shadows on that noble feeling. Stress is intrinsic to bedside nursing, but it's essential to recognize when stress becomes overwhelming, when anxiety starts interfering with work, sleep, or personal relationships, and when it's time to take action.
Is Nursing a Stressful Career?
According to sources like McKinsey and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), inpatient registered nurses (RNs) have been experiencing higher stress and intent-to-leave rates in the last few months, rising from 35 percent in fall 2022 to over 40 percent in March 2023.
Nurses are leaving hospital jobs in droves. But why is this happening, and what can nurses do to capture the joy of such meaningful work and counteract the high stress?
Causes of Healthcare Stress in 2023
The healthcare landscape in 2023 is presenting unprecedented challenges, including wider health disparities due to economic uncertainties and climate-related issues, gaps in access to advanced therapies, and workforce shortages. Nurses at the forefront of patient care often bear the brunt of these challenges, leading to increased stress levels in the vital area of bedside nursing.
What Is Bedside Nursing?
Bedside nursing is direct, hands-on care for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities. This care includes the practical tasks of taking vital signs, administering medication, providing wound care, and assisting with activities of daily living, as well as observation, monitoring, and effective communication.
In addition, bedside nurses practice patient advocacy, provide emotional support, and find the time and words to make sure the patient and their family understand the patient’s condition and the treatment plan, all with the hallmark of caring and compassion.
Read Why Bedside Nurses Deserve More Respect
How Can I Improve My Happiness Working Bedside?
While nurse stress is inevitable, nurses can take steps to find joy in their profession and alleviate anxiety and strain. In spite of the workload, nurses can practice laughter, hope, friendship, optimism, and gratitude, developing attitudes, mental and physical routines, and human relations that make the job easier and happier. Here are a few practices to start off with—besides dancing!
- Laugh, Chuckle, and Heal: Laughter actually produces relaxation, increases oxygen intake, stimulates the heart and other muscles, and triggers the release of endorphins, effectively reducing stress. A positive mood and mindset have been shown to improve stress management, leading to better health outcomes and greater job satisfaction. So, if you heard a funny—and appropriate—story recently, practice telling it and then bring a little laughter to the bedside, letting those giggles fly!
- Practicing a positive mindset: Developing a habit of looking for positive aspects in situations and experiences can lead to increased feelings of gratitude and joy. For example, when a patient almost chokes on food and finally coughs it up, instead of focusing on the danger of the situation, you can say, “Good for you! You did a good job of getting that out!”
- Being grateful: Keeping a gratitude journal, or even just post-it notes, reminding yourself of one small thing you were proud of or that made you feel good, and sharing this with colleagues, family, and—sometimes—patients, may make quite a difference for you and others.
- Building supportive relationships: Spend more time with colleagues and loved ones who uplift and support you. Support networks contribute to overall well-being.
- Finding meaning in your bedside work: Meaning often comes from personal connections with patients or colleagues or a profound inner connection with the essence of what you do, giving you strength and satisfaction in your daily routine. Bedside nursing embodies the care and compassion that is at the essence of the nursing profession. Remember this: In bedside nursing, you change lives with knowledge, diligence, and care.
- Learning: Whether it is an insight into a coping strategy or a new technology, learning boosts self-confidence, opens up new horizons, and helps you break out of feelings of frustration and inadequacy.
- Sharing hope: It's not about making empty promises but rather recognizing the vitality of the human spirit. It's understanding that hope, in its most genuine form, can relieve stress as a nurse and as a patient and become a bridge between despair and healing.
Happiness and Healing
A study by the American Psychological Association (APA) defends happiness as preceding general health, professional success, high immunity, sociability, and coping with stress. All these desirable qualities are highly interrelated in a virtuous cycle that you can get rolling by giving your happiness a boost.
While nursing undoubtedly brings along its share of stress, it is vital to healing, well-being, acceptance, and hope. You can find bedside nursing shifts using Nursa’s open nursing marketplace and app to connect to facilities that need your nursing skills and strength born of a noble heart.
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