Essay 1: A Response (final copy)

 Robinson 1  

Leah Robinson

Professor Joan Dudley

English Composition 1

13 October 2024

Essay 1: A Response

Who is going to take care of the nurse? This is a question my mom and I, both being healthcare

workers, ask each other anytime one of us is stressed with work. We ask it as a way of reminding each

other that while our job may be to take care of others, we must take care of ourselves first. Studies show

that health care worker burnout is a significant issue in our world today and our nurses and other health

care workers need to be reminded to take care of themselves first. In his article “The Science of Health

Care Worker Burnout: Assessing and Improving Health Care Worker Well-Being” , Rehder, Kyle MD,

along with other doctors of philosophy, investigate the probable causes of health care worker burnout

and how workers and organizations can better avoid this outcome. I agree with the ways Rehder

suggests; my own view though, being a healthcare worker myself, is that it is a lot more complex than

Rehder makes it seem. 

Rates of burnout in healthcare are higher than in any other profession, Rehder states it “is about

1.5 to 2.5 times higher”. And, while the burnout rate for physicians is the highest of all the specialties,

Rehder acknowledges nurse burnout is “in a similar but slightly lower range to physicians” still a concern.

Not that burnout is permissible in any occupation or should be most revised in health care, but no patient

wants the responsibility of their well-being placed in the hands of individuals who dread their job. And

because of that, this is a serious issue for everyone at hand. Burnout can cause more medical errors,

weak relationships with patients, mental health issues, poor sleep, higher turnover rates, etc. Rehders’

article also states that “higher rates of emotional exhaustion were consistently associated with lower

teamwork and safety norms”. This is all because once you are burnt out from work, you become

careless and focused on getting the job done and getting home. But while those are the effects of

burnout, what is the cause and how can we stop it? Rehder suggests that the 2 main drivers are

institutional facts and personal factors, while I agree, what does this really mean? In my experience,

health care workers aren’t appreciated enough for the work that they do. Although we have weeks for

appreciation of certain specialties, I believe the appreciation should be all year. I’m not implying that

gifts should be given and parties should be thrown weekly, merely that instead of going all out on

appreciation one week a year, we show a respectable amount of appreciation and support for workers

every day. Health care is an emotionally taxing career, as well as physical in certain fields, and feeling

supported and valued at your job can go a long way as far as self-esteem and turnover rates which are

both a risk of burnout. 

Personal factors are also a cause of burnout. Balancing work and hobbies can be hard if you are

feeling exhausted after a long day of work. However, self care is an important part of keeping

ourselves out of burnout; on days where you aren’t feeling up to plans you made after work, do it

anyway, show up for yourself. I’m not implying that you have to do exactly what you had planned,

even a less complicated alternative would be effective. Say you planned to go to the gym for 2 hours

but you’re feeling exhausted after work, instead of going home, try a walk in the park or even a simple

stretch routine. In times where you feel like doing nothing, the hardest thing is to push yourself to do

something. But, once you make a habit of those things it becomes easy and effective. In my own

experience, making habits of the gym, spending time in nature, and spending time with friends has

helped tremendously. In an emotionally taxing job like healthcare, it’s important to balance your own

emotions after taking in those of your patients and their family members. Invest in calming activities

like meditation, reading, or even just writing from time to time in a journal to balance your nerves

after a long day. While rest is beneficial, getting too much of it can also be harmful. Avoiding burnout

requires being aware of when you’re in need of a break or rest and whether you’re resting too much.

Too much rest can look like getting home from work and immediately going to sleep throughout the

work week and/or sleeping your off days away. These are times we need to be doing activities in

order to keep the dopamine flowing.

Rehder asserts that “experiencing positive emotion is a causal link in the chain of feeling greater

purpose”, and this I wholeheartedly agree with. Though burnout is not depression, they are very similar.

Burnout is caused by stress at your workplace and can appear as depression because of the exhausted

behavior, however depression is a psychological condition. Which means that burnout is more manageable

than depression. Despite this, Rehder says that burnout “may be a risk factor for depression” if left

unattended. Which is why life experiences outside of work are important. The more content you feel

with your life, the more productive and less stressed you will feel at work. So things like keeping up

with hobbies and your social life as well as jobs showing appreciation and understanding might just be

the key. Appreciation can even appear as noticing the signs of burnout in a worker and showing up for

them in whatever way they need. As far as what workers can do for themselves, make those plans! Get

out of the house beyond going to work, see friends and family. Or even stay in and have a movie or yoga

night. Nurture yourself, because that will help you avoid the negative feelings of burnout. And if you feel

it starting to creep up, reach out for support because you probably are not the only one.

Works Cited

Rehder, Kyle, MD, et al. “The Science of Health Care Worker Burnout: Assessing and Improving Health              Care Worker Well-Being” Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Vol. 145, Iss. 9, September            2021, https://www.proquest.com/docview/2571981464?OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:wcdiscovery&accountid=39906&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals