This year's National Nurses Week — May 6 through May 12 — is being observed under the banner "Nursing: The Balance of Mind, Body, and Spirit" to place an emphasis on the importance of the health and well-being of these essential frontline providers.
Achieving work-life balance as a nurse in today's healthcare environment is no small feat. The nursing profession in America is currently experiencing a burnout epidemic: A recent survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder found 7 in 10 nurse respondents reported feeling burnt out in their current roles.
In April, Vicki Good, DNP, RN, CENP, CPPS, a former president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses — the largest specialty nursing organization in the world, 
boasting more than 100,000 members — spoke with Becker's about the issues fueling nurse burnout, what can be done at the hospital level to address the widespread problem, how she personally strives to achieve work-life balance and more.
Dr. Good currently works as the administrative director of patient safety for CoxHealth in Springfield, Mo., where she serves as a communicative conduit between patients, clinicians, staff, management and senior leaders and board members. Additionally, Dr. Good is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology and the American Society of Professionals in Patient Safety.
Note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What are the primary issues in healthcare fueling nurse burnout?
Vicki Good: It's multifactorial. Obviously the environment is incredibly stressful [and] very challenging. We can't leave that bedside like physicians can. It's the nurses that have to take care of the patient and the patient's family. You couple these pressures with the fatigue of the work environment, along with the nursing shortage, and it really represents a perfect storm.
Nurses encounter ethical dilemmas all the time. We deal with end-of-life issues and you're asked to deliver what you see as futile care when the family wants one thing and the physician or provider recommends another. The role of the nurse is really an advocacy role. When you put nurses in the middle of situations such as these, it places nurses in a dilemma of "how do I advocate for my patient?"
What nurses are seeing now is a world of distress. It's "I can't get everything done I need to get done for my patient" and when things remain undone there's a feeling of guilt. How do I continue to become more and more efficient in light of increasing demand in terms of an aging patient population and a nursing shortage? We're all constantly being asked to do more with less.
Q: Does the stigma surrounding mental health issues inhibit nurses from speaking up about burnout?
VG: For years the whole burnout syndrome has been stigmatized, and the last thing we wanted to consider [as nurses] was that we needed care when all of our training and drive is to care for others, which feeds into the whole concept that maybe I'm not as strong as I think.
I think the thing we're trying to advocate for is that we really have to lift this whole stigma concept and that we're all at risk for this. There's no one formula that's going to fix the problem. The good news is it's getting picked up in the literature more and more every day and that helps make people be more willing to reach out and get help.
Q: What can be done from the administrative side to reduce burnout among the nursing staff?
VG: There are a lot of different things that can be done. No single intervention is going to fully address it. Interventions are really divided into two categories: one is about the individual; the other is focused on the work environment. They both have to be addressed. This is clearly something individuals need to be encouraged to address themselves, but the administration also has to address the issue in the workplace and promote a healthy work environment.
There are a lot of things that need to be done in terms of building a collaborative environment where all people have voice in how things are done. If we all collaboratively come together on how we're going to take care of these patients, we can eliminate some of the care issues linked to burnout. Team work and communications training are key. Communication issues are the number one cause of sentinel events in the United States, but often not taught. You see mandatory training for all these cool fancy things like balloon pumps, but you rarely find training in team communication.
Wellness programs that were originally designed to bring down insurance costs have become an effective burnout prevention strategy. Some of the things you do for retention of your staff can also help with burnout. Additionally, hospitals have to make sure they have adequate programs to deal with end of life care.
Within AACN, we have the work environment assessment tool to assist leadership in identifying what areas of the work environment need to be addressed.
Q: How can nurses personally protect themselves from burnout? How have you?
VG: I think number one is educating yourself on the issue. You have to understand it and then you have to find what works for you. One thing I've found to be valuable for me is I've engaged in the Headspace application, a 10-minute mindfulness training app. I'm trying to learn how to set my boundaries. On Sundays, I don't answer email unless it's a life-threatening situation or has to be addressed. If you talk to anybody four or five years ago, that wasn't the case for me. When you're interviewing for the job you really have to talk to people and see what kind of work environment you'll be entering. The younger generation of nurses is demanding healthy work environments. It's important to weigh both your expectations and the employer's expectations.