Smith reports that Kingman Regional has seen roughly 50 % higher levels of burnout over the past two years as nurses fight to cope with “ the marathon of it all .” He remarks that with this increase has come a subsequent rise in turnover .
Starr noted that the level of unease among nurses at the beginning was a result of fear of COVID-19 and was initially met by her team with education and coaching on resiliency . As the pandemic wore on though , burnout began to increase . Today , after going through the third and fourth waves of COVID-19 and caring for large numbers of patients who were lost , Starr states that “ nurses were going beyond burnout into a more serious trauma response .”
Leaders in both hospitals quickly put nurse well-being as Priority One for their organizations . “ I think well-being is everything . I really do ,” says Smith . “ If the primary needs of our staff aren ’ t met , secondary needs don ’ t matter .” Starr feels similarly , “ Well-being has to be priority one , or you can ’ t care for others … our staff have to continue to do the work . They have to be able to go home and continue to be a husband , a father , a mom , a sister , a wife , a girlfriend , an aunt . Those things have to continue on . If staff are not whole , they cannot take care of those areas of their lives . Then , they can ’ t do the kind of work that they want to do first and foremost , and that our patients deserve .”
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