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I am a registered nurse and I recall a discussion in my ethics class oh so many years ago. The question was what type of nurse would you want caring for you, a nurse that went into the profession to become a nurse or one who chose to become one to get paid for it? Of course everyone agreed that it would be the former rather than the latter. It was a moot question.

Back then.

But now things have changed. Nurses roles have become ever so more demanding. We take care of people during some of their most dire needs and ills, from the beginning of their lives to their ends. The technology has advanced rapidly and medical knowledge right along with it. Nurses work in a niche profession. We are college educated, clinically trained professionals who truly cannot be replaced by any other.

And there is a severe nursing shortage that some experts predict will not reach its peak until the year 2011. The average age of the nurse nationwide is 43 years old. There will not be enough nurses to take care of a growing population of patients who are living longer then ever before. Nurses are working much overtime, they are not given enough credit for the fantastic work they do. The list goes on and on. And this can lead to burnout.

There are ways to combat burnout. You can change where you work as a nurse, either in the hospital or clinic to a different area of nursing with different patients and challenges. You can go back to school and increase your understanding of your profession. You can go into management with no patient care whatsoever. Or you can become a traveling nurse.

Each of these choices has its positives and negatives. Your salary will change, the people you work with will change. School is more challenging if you also have a family to care for. Becoming a nurse manager for some is like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. For others it is their outlet. Travel nursing seems to be the rage these days. It pays very well and you get to work below the radar of all the politics that seem to place such a heavy load on the shoulders of nurses these days.

Think about an outlet, an avenue to displace the things that are so dissatisfying to you. Give them a try. Remember how we were taught we had to be 100% correct when passing out medications? well we can't be perfect all the time. We can try. But things do happen. Learn to say no when you can't work extra. And do not feel guilty about it.

Nursing is a specialty. We Care for people. But we also need to take care of ourselves. And the biggest problem right now is burnout. I believe If somehow you can try some of the above ideas they will help you continue to be that good nurse you always knew you were.

Learn more about this author, george chavez.
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