September 18, 2021

Career

RUOK? This year, it’s never been more important to ask.

by Leave a Comment

9th September is R U OK? day.

In 2009 Gavin Larkin asked one question to honour his father who died because of suicide.

The simple and important question that became a movement and the birth of the R U OK? organisation: “Are you OK?”

R U OK? is a national Conversation Movement that is equipping Australians with the skills and confidence to support those struggling with life.

Nurse & Midwife Support is committed to supporting this movement and ensuring nurses, midwives and students have access to support and a nurse and or midwife on our phone lines who will ask you R U OK?

Support is available 24/7 no matter where you are in Australia 1800 667 877 or via our website. Support is anonymous, confidential, and free.

As COVID-19 continues to impact the lives of nurses, midwives and students many are on edge, hypervigilant, fatigued, stressed and anxious. It’s exhausting to be in a constant state of readiness and on a frontline for 18 months! Many nurses and midwives report they are not OK.

A nurse has written a heartfelt and touching piece about the impact of working as a nurse during the pandemic, in which they admit: COVID-19 has made me question my career.

They are not alone.

Every nurse, midwife, and student should know that it is OK not to be OK and, at Nurse & Midwife Support we are available for support.

R U OK? have resources to support you to ask the important question R U OK? While you are at it, we recommend you ask yourself: Am I OK?

You may be concerned about a colleague friend, neighbour, or family member. There are resources available to assist you to ask the question and what to do next.

The R U Ok? Message this year is “Are they really OK? Ask them today”.

Now more than ever it is vital to check that everyone is OK — because, let’s face it, there are a lot more stresses than usual to not feel OK about. That’s why we recently devoted the entire issue of our Winter 2021 newsletter to Support. Check it out to find resources that work for you.

If you are a nurse, midwife or student and you aren’t OK, don’t wait, reach out for support now! We’re here.

Your health REALLY does matter!

This article was provided by Nurse & Midwife Support.

The Essential Network (TEN) – helping nurses and midwives manage burnout in 2021

by Leave a Comment

Hospitals and medical practices have never been more stressful. With increasingly infectious variants of COVID-19, vaccination rollouts, staff isolating and patients facing visitor restrictions at vulnerable times, it’s little wonder nurses and midwives are under pressure. Add to those concerns family stress, lockdowns, home schooling and a lot of uncertainty, it’s not surprising to see burnout and stress increasing in the medical workforce.

To help manage burnout and support the mental health of healthcare workers, the Black Dog Institute created The Essential Network (TEN).  TEN is a digital mental health hub designed by health professionals for health professionals, focused on maintaining strict confidentiality for healthcare workers worried that seeking help may be seen as a liability or weakness by their profession. ​ TEN understands that confidentiality is extremely important to health professionals. It is not funded by Medicare and interactions with the service are not recorded on ‘My Health Record’. Through TEN, all Australian nurses and midwives can access the following free of charge:

  • telehealth clinical consultations with a psychologist or psychiatrist
  • confidential mental health screening
  • self-help resources
  • digital mental health tools

What is burnout?

With the ongoing effect of COVID-19, nurses and midwives are currently experiencing elevated levels of burnout. While burnout is not a mental illness or diagnoses, the World Health Organisation recognises burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress. It can involve feelings of low energy or exhaustion; increased emotional distance from your work; negative or cynical feelings towards your job; and a sense of being less effective.

“Healthcare workers and especially nurses are at a higher risk of burnout due to the demands of their role,” says Dr Peter Baldwin, clinical psychologist and researcher for the Black Dog Institute.

“The good news is that burnout is a specific cognitive, behavioural and emotional experience that can be managed.”

“There are strategies to manage burnout. Some emotion management, setting boundaries, asking for help, and seeking support can make a big difference,” says Dr Baldwin.

What causes burnout?

In high-risk organisations such as medical workplaces, it’s the occupational stress that can build up that take a toll. Issues such as rostering, transparency of promotions, access to PPE and lack of adequate support to conduct their work safely all add to the stress.

Researchers looking into the commonalities between those experiencing burnout have discovered that traits such as perfectionism may be red flags for developing burnout.

“Burnout seems to have a number of causes, such as working in an environment that’s high pressured but doesn’t really acknowledge that you’re a human being with limits,” says Dr Baldwin. “It can be intensified by particular styles of thinking, such as having unrealistic expectations of ourselves and others.”

In one of UNSW’s studies responses from more than 1,000 people indicated nine other factors commonly affecting people experiencing burnout. These included: anxiety/stress; depression and low mood; irritability and anger; sleep disturbances; lack of motivation or passion; lack of concentration; memory loss or brain fog; withdrawal from others; and physical symptoms such as aches, headaches, nausea and low libido.

Managing burnout

There are several helpful things you can do to start to manage burnout. These include using mindfulness and emotion regulation techniques, setting boundaries, managing time to create structure in your workday, asking for help, and seeking professional help through services like TEN.

“Don’t suffer stress or burnout alone,” says Dr Baldwin.  “There is confidential help available that can support you to do the vital work you trained so hard to do.” Through TEN, nurses and midwives can access support to help them manage burnout and maintain good mental health.

Find out how to get support at https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/the-essential-network/

This content was sponsored by the Black Dog Institute.

 

Not enough nurses

by Leave a Comment

The World Health Organization estimates an extra six million nurses are needed globally.

COVID-19 has exposed the world’s health systems to the ultimate stress test.

Healthcare workers have accounted for around 10 per cent of COVID-19 cases globally, according to the International Council of Nurses, a federation of national nursing associations. The disease has killed at least 1500 nurses.

The pandemic has also revealed the desperate shortages of nurses globally and the reliance of many rich countries, including Australia, on foreign-trained nurses, to the detriment of poorer countries.

In Britain, foreign-trained nurses account for 15 per cent of the nursing workforce. Brexit has compounded the country’s nursing shortage. Last year fewer than 1000 European nurses registered to work in Britain, compared with 9389 four years earlier, reported 
The Economist.

In Australia, a federal Department of Health report projected a shortfall of 85,000 nurses by 2025 and 123,000 by 2030.

The Philippines and India are the world’s biggest exporters of nurses, but both countries face shortages too, even though both countries train more nurses than they need.

In a developed nation like Britain, there are more than eight nurses per 1000 people, compared with less than five in the Philippines and two in India.

The WHO calculates the Philippines will face a shortfall of almost 250,000 nurses by 2030. Nurses in these countries often face widespread unemployment, low wages and poor career opportunities, which encourages graduates to move abroad.

‘The Philippines and India are the world’s biggest exporters of nurses, but both countries face shortages too.’

Job satisfaction and improved conditions promote nurse retention

by Leave a Comment

An Omani study has found that job satisfaction and improved conditions had a significant impact on the retention rates of nursing staff and the quality of care that they provide. 

The study, conducted out of the Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat, Oman, sampled 207 nurses who had worked at a metropolitan hospital for over a year. They were surveyed on their job satisfaction, burnout, participation in hospital affairs and turnover intention, as well as the staffing adequacy and quality of care provided at the hospital. 

The authors found that job satisfaction rates were heavily influenced by a nurse’s ability to participate in hospital affairs and by improved working conditions. These conditions included adequate staffing and a safe work environment. 

Where job satisfaction rates were higher, the authors found a higher number of staff were keen to remain at their place of work. Further, they found that higher job satisfaction rates affected the quality of care that nursing staff perceived they provided. 

In contrast, nurses who reported unsafe work environments, lack of employee consultation and large periods of unsafe staffing were also more likely to report of burnout, low job satisfaction and a desire to leave the hospital. 

The study’s authors recommended that “organizational strategies are needed to increase nurse job satisfaction to reduce turnover intention and enhance the quality of patient care.” 

This study was the first study of its kind based in Oman, and only the third to study the effects of job satisfaction and nurse turnover in the Middle East. 

The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association is your workplace advocate for better working conditions and for winning better lives. To join the Association and to find out about the benefits of membership, visit their website today. 

Nurses need psychological PPE during a pandemic

by Leave a Comment

Protecting the wellbeing of the health workforce is key to providing quality care during a pandemic, say experts.

A study by researchers from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland published in the journal BMC Public Health (August 2020) shows that exposed health care professionals working with patients during an epidemic or pandemic are at heightened risk of mental health problems – both in the short and longer term.

Clinicians are particularly vulnerable to psychological distress, insomnia, alcohol or drug misuse, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, burnout and anger, they say.

Their analysis was based on evidence from healthcare professionals working during the 2002–2004 SARSand the 2014 Ebola outbreaks.

Dr Anita MY Goh and Professor Briony Dow, from the National Ageing Institute at the University of Melbourne, say these lessons need to be applied to the aged care workforce.

“We need to keep aged care staff safe – safe from infection, but also safe from the psychological effects of caring for people in the midst of a highly communicable global pandemic.

“Wellbeing for the aged care workforce is key to prevent burnout, fatigue, and for workers to provide quality care, particularly with the additional stress and pressures they face in providing care during this pandemic.

“Just as we don, doff, and monitor our physical PPE, we need to check our and others’ ‘psychological PPE’,” they wrote in the Melbourne academic journal Pursuit.

‘Just as we don, doff, and monitor our physical PPE, we need to check our and others’ “psychological PPE”.’

NSWNMA members win big at Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards 

by Leave a Comment

Five NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association members have won awards at the 2020 Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards. 

Mike Smith from Prince of Wales Hospital’s HIV Outreach Program won the inaugural Healing Heart Award, which drew nominations from NSW Health consumers. 

Lisa Wilson from Batemans Bay Hospital received the Judith Meppem Leadership Award. 

Other award recipients include: 

  • New Grad nurse Corey Sclater from Prince of Wales Hospital as the New to Practice Nurse/Midwife of the Year; 
  • Amelia Bolt from the Coffs Harbour Cancer Institute as the Aboriginal Nurse/Midwife of the Year; and 
  • Cindy Partridge from Nepean Hospital as the Midwife of the Year; 
  • Shellharbour Hospital COVID-19 Assessment Clinic as Team of the Year. 

The awards celebrate the exceptional achievements of public sector nurses and midwives from across the state. 

NSW Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, Jacqui Cross, lauded the achievements of the nurses and midwives who received awards. 

“You should all be proud of what you do, how you do it, and why you do it,” Cross said. 

 The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association can help with improving your practice and jump-starting your career. Join us today.