Nurses across the U.S. have been making national headlines recently, and it’s not just because National Nursing Week takes place in May.
Earlier this month, a Washington State Senator sparked an enormous wave of backlash after remarking that some nurses spend portions of their day “playing cards.” In response to this comment, nurses across the country rallied together and created the hashtag, #nursesplaycards, which went viral. The senator found herself suddenly knee-deep in cards – an estimated 1,700 decks were delivered to her office in Olympia.
This incident was right on the heels of an eye-opening report that was released this past April detailing shocking statistics about nurse burnout. According to the report, 15.6% of all nurses reported feelings of burnout, with the number rising to 41% of “unengaged” nurses.
Nursing burnout is not only a human rights issue but also a business issue. Burnout-related turnover may cost healthcare systems up to $1.7 billion annually for hospital-employed physicians and nearly $17 billion across the entire nation, crippling an industry that is needed more than ever.
As a former ER and Critical Care nurse who personally had a health crisis and near suicide from burnout at the age of 44, I urge other nurses and health professionals to pay closer attention to this alarming, fast-spreading epidemic and continue to work to discover holistic ways to combat it.
Nursing Burnout: It Can Be Difficult to Define
Defining nursing burnout isn’t always a simple process, and it’s not merely a diagnosis with a list of instant cures. Rather, burnout is a complex set of symptoms caused by karmic injury.
As you may know, the Western medicine model is based on outcomes, or how well a patient does through their hospitalization or surgery. Unfortunately, by focusing on outcomes, the responsibility for healthcare has increasingly shifted onto nurses – where
it doesn’t belong. Because of this industry standard, it’s not shocking that more and more nurses are highly susceptible to mental, physical and emotional exhaustion.
If this fatigue doesn’t go away with proper rest and attention, it can quickly transform into burnout. Over time, negative experiences can become cumulative, overpowering our coping mechanisms, and leaving us feeling helpless.
Also, I don’t believe the term burnout is entirely accurate. In many cases, mainstream media attributes burnout to “a loss of engagement,” illustrating a portrait of a healthcare provider standing against the wall staring into space. However, burnout is much more complicated.
From fatigue and low energy to aches and pains, burnout symptoms can also surface in the form of irritability, meltdowns, anxiety, depression, and in some cases, suicidal thoughts. As a result, some nurses that experience burnout often turn to drugs or alcohol to numb their feelings, further isolating themselves.
As nurses, we deal with an extraordinary level of negative thoughts and attitudes stemmed by either our own minds or pressures placed on us by our job environments. This negative energy clouds our aura and can pollute it. And with enough accumulation, those negative energies can become trapped in our physical tissue and lead to burnout.
How do I know this? I lived it for many years. During my healthcare career, I literally twisted myself into a pretzel until I broke. This firsthand exposure to the day-to-day stresses of critical care nursing opened my eyes to the burnout epidemic reality ravaging our healthcare system.
How Gemstone and Diamond Therapy Can Help
I overcame my experience with serious trauma with a unique approach to wellness: Gemstone & Diamond Therapy. Once considered new-age and radical, the ancient practice of Gemstone and Diamond Therapy has made its way to the mainstream, and its rise in popularity has been rapid.
Gemstone and Diamond Therapy are complementary, natural healing methods that address the underlying energetic causes and contributing factors of illness and lack of wellness. Gemstones have been used for thousands of years to cure ailments, to increase prosperity, and most importantly, enhance inner peace ‑ making it a perfect fit for combating nursing burnout.
The therapeutic benefits of gemstone energies run far and wide. Evidence suggests that different stones send out different vibrations which can resonate with the frequency of
healthy cells in a specific part of the human body, and they may help bring back unhealthy cells to vibrating at the same level as healthy cells.
Also, gemstone therapy can provide relief from a wide range of mental, physical and spiritual challenges. From helping with anxiety and depression to chronic and acute pain, sprains and even skin rashes and disorders, gemstone therapy energizes the body and mind, decreases blood pressure and inflammation, frees blocked emotions, reduces toxins, minimizes stress and attracts positive energy.
Some Final Thoughts
As nurses today, we must understand our primary role – to give the most exceptional, highly skilled nursing care we can to patients and to do it with compassion and detachment. The healthcare industry must support this notion by shifting the assumption that nurses carry a burden that’s simply not theirs to carry. At the end of the day, health outcomes belong to the patient – and the patient only.
Looking ahead, I continue my mission to help nurses and other medical professionals take their lives back from burnout.
If you think you are suffering from burnout and are interested in exploring something that could really change your life, Gemstone and Diamond Therapy may help you move forward on your journey to greater health. I’m here to show you how you can take your life back.
About Jennifer Marcenelle
Jennifer Marcenelle MBA, BSN, RN, HBC-HN is a Board-Certified Holistic Nurse and certified Gemstone Therapy Practitioner. As the founder and CEO of Burn Bright Today, she has dedicated her career to helping people move from Burning Out to Burning Bright.
For More Information Visit: www.burnbrighttoday.com
