Your Listening Partner: Heart-Centered Tips to Prevent Burnout

As part of our Full Circle of Support, we provide our travelers with mental health resources so they can focus on their assignments with peace of mind. We've partnered with Dr. Clare at Your Listening Partner, to provide travelers with free, confidential 1:1 listening sessions. She has her Ph.D. in Listening and over 21 years of experience listening to Health Care Professionals. We care about your well-being and want to make sure you have all the necessary tools and resources to succeed in your career while on assignment with us.

In a recent collaboration with Your Listening Partner, Dr. Clare shares with us some heart-centered tips to help you prevent burnout.

Dealing with Stress

Stress is something as a nurse, as a healthcare professional, you are very familiar with. You're in stressful situations every day, but as a traveler you have another tier of stress and stressful situations that are unique to your profession. You're away from home and with that you're in a new situation, your new job, and that can be pretty stressful. Speaking about the job, let's talk about the new supervisor, the new team, the new hospital. You have to learn it all over again. New people, new personalities and maybe your supervisor doesn't understand your unique challenges and it can be very stressful.

So what do you do? What are some things that maybe help you face these stressful situations.

Get in a Routine

First of all, a routine and building your home base. There's a there's comfort in routine. You know, like it's Monday I'm going to do my laundry, it's Tuesday, I'm going to the grocery store. Those little markers help us establish a rhythm to life and that can be very comforting.

Setup Your Space

What about things that are personalized? Your space as your nest? Maybe you have a special coffee cup or teacup that you start your day with. Or just little things that that you look at the walls around you in your apartment and say these things make this feel like home.

Take a Moment

What about work life/balance? Work, sleep, work, sleep. Does that sound familiar? Well, don't forget, you can't pour water from an empty pitcher. It's important to take a few moments, even a day, to stop and refresh. What is it that helps you relax? Take that moment and restore yourself. It's important. It's an important priority. Otherwise, your give, give, give and you can burn out.

Connect with Friends

What do you do about friends? Well, thank goodness for Facebook or FaceTime or whatever group you might be in so you can make connection. Friends are important because they know you. They know your jokes. You have shared experience. They know you. That's important. So connect with your friends whenever you can.

Don't Forget to Laugh & Breathe

But don't forget to laugh. That's an important part. Laughter is the best stress release of all.

When you're in a situation and you feel the tension rising, stop. Take a breath. Maybe you physically stop. Maybe you just mentally stop. But it's important to catch your breath. Consider your resources. What is it you have already that you need to deal with this situation?

Then you respond. You respond, not react. And when you have that choice, that's where your power lies. You choose how you are going to respond.

So first of all, be sure and breathe. That's a good way to face any situation.