Obviously, the most recent nursing issues are related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which revealed many existing problems in healthcare when they became too acute not to spot them. For me, the most evident case was nursing burnout, which was globally recognized as a prominent issue during the virus outbreak. Burnout is characterized by the experiences of extreme emotional fatigue, depersonalization, and the feeling that one’s professional competency is limited (Dall’Ora & Saville, 2021). In the context of COVID-19, nurses are observed to suffer from “low family and colleagues readiness to cope with COVID-19 outbreak, … decreased social support, the increased perceived threat of COVID-19” (Galanis et al., 2021, para. 5). Moreover, “longer working time in the quarantine area, working in the higher risk environment, working in hospitals with inadequate and insufficient materials and human resources, increased workload and lower level of training regarding COVID-19” also resulted in burnout (Galanis et al., 2021, para. 5). Hence, I decided that this situation represents inequality in the working conditions in healthcare and needs to be addressed.
To make a change in this situation, I decided to begin by connecting to the healthcare manager of my facility. This person seemed to be the most influential one in the means of resources and links for further changes. Above all, managers are employed in healthcare facilities to enhance the working conditions and balance the needs of the workers and the customers. So, I have prepared a talk about the experiences of my colleagues that are similar to the symptoms of burnout and researched the consequences of this situation to highlight the importance of the issue.
However, my prepared talk was somewhat problematic since it did not present any solutions for the problem. Indeed, it is the task of the manager to deal with such issues, but in the course of the discussion, I realized that some professional insight from nurses was necessary. As a result, I faced a communication barrier since I could not point out the importance of the situation. The manager explained to me that, for example, reducing the working hours of the nurses would result in reduced customer service, which could not be eliminated. Moreover, the facility cannot afford to hire more nurses without the salaries of the existing ones being cut. This talk made me think that nothing could be done about the situation.
However, the manager somewhat fulfilled my wish to change the situation, so the pleas did not fall on deaf ears. I was informed that the burnout situation was already regarded as an issue in my facility, and some actions would soon be taken. Namely, the manager told me that the facility was considering training of the leading personnel so that they would promote the importance of the nurses’ jobs and provide rewards to deal with burnout. So, my report showed them that changes should be done soon and that their program should be implemented. Therefore, I realized that my attempt to improve the situation was not vain.
However, the talk to the manager made me understand that my approach to injustice had to be improved. Namely, if I were to participate in such an action again, I would conduct better research before entering a conversation with an influential person. Moreover, I would plan some initiatives that my profession accesses me to promote so that to be ready to discuss different solutions for the problem.
References
Dall’Ora, C., & Saville, C. (2021). Burnout in nursing: What have we learned and what is still unknown?Nursing Times. Web.
Galanis, P., Vraka, I., Fragkou, D., Bilali, A., & Kaitelidou, D. (2021). Nurses’ burnout and associated risk factors during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing. Web.