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Forum :: Help please |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
08 11 2010 10:56
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| madmavis |
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Joined: 08 11 2010 10:37
Posts: 10
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This is a difficult thing to deal with in a small workforce. A bit of time out is helpful. Whenever I have a particularly stressful day I always try to watch sometime funny on TV. This helps a lot. |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
08 11 2010 10:54
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| madmavis |
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Joined: 08 11 2010 10:37
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You have had some dreadful experiences. Not everyone in the mental health field are bad or unhelpful. It is unacceptable that you are enduring so much pressure/bullying in relation to your situation. When someone has a long term injury there seems to be a lot of bullying of the person in the workplace. No one in their right mind wants to put up with long term pain and distress. Hope your situation gets better in the near future. |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:20
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
Posts: 2,604
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Foxylass, I know a nurse at the last place I worked that had a simple slip / fall in her workplace which was not her fault. Thankfully she did not have to enure the mental side that you have had too survive but just the non support that she had was every bit the same. Thankfully her family helped her to be strong and she is now back at work.
The thing that kept her going was the belief in herself that she still had much more to offer her patients and she held on and pushed till she found a position that she could do in nursing that did not involve lifting ... they are out there ..... best of wishes. |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:20
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
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To Foxylass.... Well done for your persistence. Nursing and life can be hard. Stick by your beliefs, realise that others and even yourself are not perfect all the time... I am impressed (and shocked) by your story but am pleased to see you persistence and conviction and staying power.. can't really imagine how bad it has been. but I am sure I have only dealt with about 10% of what you have done and I don't want to do it again! Employers...look at the human not at the bank balance we beg you.. and you will find, I am sure, it will be better for you also int the long run. Best wishes Foxy Lass |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:20
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
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I have just found this booklet resource from NSWNA on stress management for nurses: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/resources/nursing/pdf/stress_mngt.pdf
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:20
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
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It sounds like you've had a really bad time and are due for a bit of moral and legal justice; I hope being able to vent here at nurse uncut has helped a little bit |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:20
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
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The system has to change. Psychiatrists are not policed in any way.Nobody can successfully sue them as they just say that the patient has delusions of persecution or is in denial of their mental illness.Medical and surgical doctors are held accountable for their clinical skills and knowledge. If their patients are all getting infections,never recover or are dying on the table then it gets the attention of everyone inside and outside medical circles. But if you are a psychiatrist then the fact that none of your patients ever recover or they commit suicide is deemed acceptable.What a job. You don't have to know what you are doing ( just follow the psych bible) , there is no such thing as a misdiagnosis, you only need speak to patients for five minutes and there is no expectation that your patients will ever recover.If only all health professionals had it that good.
Our system is absurd.I hate that organisations like Beyond Blue try to tell people to freely admit to the world that they are mentally ill because it's 2009 and there is no stigma anymore.It's no different than having diabetes !! That's really poor advice and people end up getting very hurt and discriminated against in ways they never considered. E.G Life insurance , private health cover.
You have no idea how it feels to be in constant physical pain and have creeps paid by the insurance company say that you are not in pain ,not disabled in any way just insane. I had to change GPs during this past 18 months as the previous one began to believe what the insurance company was saying about me. He was ready to serve me up on a platter. He said I wasn't recovering because I had major depression and he wanted me to take antidepressants. He said he wanted me to see a shrink. I told him to stick that idea where the sun didn't shine. then he said he felt I was addicted to pain killers. This is a person who tried to prescribe a slow release medication prn !! I told him he needed to look up the definition of addiction Vs physical dependence because he appeared to know little about either. Then he said I was exaggerating about my pain and what I couldn't do at work and he was going to make me do a trial of pre-injury duties to prove it.This was without any form of assessment and only days after increasing my lifting restriction from 4kg to 6kg. Understandibly I failed the trial of pre-injury lifting ! I walked out after telling him he was full of @*#*. When I told the new GP and the medical centre manager what he said to me their jaws dropped. I do not go to the medical centre unless my GP is on duty. I would not see that other GP if I were dying.
My future would have ended there and then if I had submitted to his ego and lack of intelligence as a clinician. It makes me wonder what the insurance company offered him as a reward for handing me to them. That is how easy it is to be labelled. |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:20
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
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Oh Foxylass! I'm so sorry if I have hurt you by my suggestion. Yours is a shocking story and what strength and determination you have shown. People are so wicked to those with real and perceived mental health problems. When people have been given "labels" such borderline PD and BiPolar Dis. they are treated with such prejudicial disrespect and contempt. The health, legal and insurance systems all unashamedly discriminate and exploit people with these labels. They use the DSMIV-R with an uninformed fervour that is despicable.
People given these types of labels are now the lepers of the health system.
I still work with health "professionals' who, when a label of Borderline PD is given to someone, they immediately dismiss that person as not entitled to any care or respect. They are so awful and contemptuous and go on to discount these patients as liars, users and not worth any care! Your story just makes me furious and this is the sort of stuff that we really need to bring to light and as nurses do something about AND URGENTLY. You go for it and get the monetary compensation you deserve. Mental illness is torture enough without the system making it 100x worse! |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:20
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
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I hope you get the result your after.I wish you all the best in the future. |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:19
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
Posts: 2,604
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Hi Patience,
I will never take SSRIs. They don't help stop the bullying behaviours of others. Instead they disable you further and then the bullies can point the bone at you and say you are nuts because you are taking medications. These drugs do NOT boost anything. the affect everyone differently in a hit and miss manner. They can make people suicidal & psychotic. No thanks.Psychiatry is what doctors who failed medicine do so that the last 7 years wasn't a total waste of time. It's how the ones who are dangerous in clinical situations remain registered. A monkey could practice psychiatry. I do not consider it a branch of medicine. They claim mental illnesses are really biological so neurologists & psychologists should be looking after them not nut bag , judgmental psychiatrists. |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:19
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
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Hi Foxylass- what you're going through really sucks! You sound very stressed and having to move on top of it all is dreadful.Decision-making is impossible in this situation. I'm not sure why you're so against going to the psychiatrists, but if you want action you do have to comply with all those aspects of your grievance/complaint, and that means the medic-legal side. One side's medico-legal person will say there's nothing wrong and the other will! Unfortunately, that's the process as difficult and as scarey as that may seem. Have you gone to one of those compensation lawyers that advertise on the radio that says if they don't win you don't pay? In the meantime what is your GP doing? If you are depressed and I don't see how you wouldn't be, you probably need a chemical boost in the way of SSRI's |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:19
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
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Re-posting here a response from our member, Tina as this was left on the Thank You page of our site:
http://www.nurseuncut.com.au/742a1.page#comments
Tina wrote:
After 5 years as a fulltime EEN on a medical ward which has 8 stroke beds i thought that i would have mastered my job but i realise now that i have to look after myself to avoid burnout.
Many time i hear about other nurses having to take time off work due to stress and depression,but i sometimes think that we can do all the necessary things to avoid this happening and it still happens so what can we do to resolve this i am so happy we have nursing uncut so we can share ideas to hopefully make our job a little easier to handle.
My ideas: Talk to your colleages as much as possible about what went on in your day other nurses are the only people that will totally understand.
Don't take work home not only does it make our family feel bad it also makes them feel powerless because they actully don't understand what went on at work.
Find time in every day even just for a few minutes to switch off and give the brain a rest.
Take regular holidays and go away if possible.
Do something creative like drawing
Get plently of sleep and rest when you can
Exercise and eat healthy
Don't be hard on yourself
Don't take on too much responsibility and learn to say no
These are the ideas i have which i hope will help and i would love to hear more ideas lets help eachother to feel less stressed and take good care of ourselves not just our patients because if we don't look after ourselves how can we perform our job well and continue doing such a wonderful job
Good on all of you |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:19
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
Posts: 2,604
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Hi Shoils,
Unfortunately there is no other area that is `easier' or `lighter' physically. It is heavier to work in our wards. I don't know if I can get another job given my lifting restriction. That is my fear. That I will be forced to stay working in that hell hole for half the price of any other RN. I won't last. I am ready to fall down now. My rental home is going on the market tomorrow morning and I will have 30 days from the time of sale to vacate. Due to the physio my pain is increasing plus it takes up two of my days off leaving me with two days a week to try and find a new place ,inspect it and accommodate the real estate agent marching potential buyers through my house. I don't know when I will get time to pack.
My workplace ducks and weaves the authorities. They dot their i's and cross their t's so nobody can tell what their behaviour is like. The OH&S nurse will not allow me to see or have a copy of the note she takes at meetings,they are her `private' rehab notes. If I record a meeting though I have to supply everyone with a written transcript. How is that fair? |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:19
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
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Oh Foxylass it sounds to me like your work place needs a review from the return to work authorities. It sounds like there is alot of horizolnal bullying going on. Unfortunately there is not much that can be done about the attitude of the manager or the people in OH&S. PICU would be very stressful for anyone let alone someone who is trying to recover from injury. I guess you need to weigh up how much you realy want to work on this ward/hospital vs starting fresh somewhere else ie agency where you can pick and choose your hours and get paid better, or work in a different field, or work in a different hospital but doing the same specialty. You need to think if this is worth the stress to fight this out.
I wish I could help you more but there are no simple solutions to this problem. You can try to seek advice from the nurses union, they may have some answers for you if you don't want to approach the HR department in you work place.
If you just want to debrief I am always happy to lend an ear to listen. |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:19
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
Posts: 2,604
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Hi Shoils,
The insurer won't let me see the psychologist I was seeing.They wanted me to see their psychiatrist not psychologist.I am not mentally ill and refuse to see the shrink to be labelled. Their intention in trying to force me to see him was so that they could win the compensation case. I have reactive depression which you do not have treated by a psychiatrist or medications. It is a response to my circumstances and will go when they improve. The insurer told my solicitor that the reason they wanted me to see their shrink was to review my pain medications.Shrinks know nothing about pain or pain medications. They want to make to take Cymbalta & panadol because it's all in your head.Their orthopaedic surgeon said I was 100% fit (nobody else agreed with that),my pain was curious & I had Bipolar disorder. News to me and my GP and every other person who has met me.It was a strategy to have me labelled by his mate the shrink who works for the insurance company and in the same office. Once labelled it affects your registration. You are forced to undergo psych treatment or lose your license.Meanwhile the insurer gets out of the claim because the have just disputed your injury and subsequent pain and disability and called it a psychiatric illness that they don't pay for. Do you get my drift now?
I get three 20 minute breaks in 12hrs. They are whenever I can be relieved not when I need them and that is how it has been since I returned to work. My only work restriction since returning to work was lifting. I have done all of my normal duties since day one minus the lifting. I told my GP,OT ,manager,OH&S nurse that I was having difficulties with other tasks and feeling awful. It was ignored. I returned to work in June 2008. The OT organised a functional workplace assessment in October after I begged for one to show her what was happening. I was taken to an empty room and asked to demonstrate (without a patient or equipment) the problems I was having.It was a joke. The unit was full of children so we could have gone to any bedside to do the assessment. Parents don't mind. They didn't even ask any parents. My suitable duties are and always have been all of my normal duties minus lifting initially >4kg ,then>6kg and now> 8kg. Working 8hr shifts doesn't improve the situation and I just get slugged another two days for parking on an already reduced wage. I just go to work exhausted for another two days a week. It is the pace of the day shifts.I get up at 5.30am ,start work at 7.30am. Take up to 30 mins for either one ICU or 2 x HDU patient's handovers.Then if I have a post-op cardiac child I have to leave them and go sit in the conference room with the registrar,intensivists and specialists/surgeons to discuss their case and plan of care for the day.That can take 5 mins - 20 mins. Then I have to do 0800hrs obs,meds and feeds plus head to toe assessment and organize with others out morning tea breaks +/- help them with their tasks. Usually one or both patients are being transferred to the ward by 1100hrs. Then lunches and receiving one or two new post-op patients and so on +/- dinner break ( often not) until 1930hrs when you handover in head to toe fashion one or two patients.I work in the busiest & largest PICU in NSW.If you can't tow the line you aren't welcome.
My manager does not care if I am alive or dead so long as the work gets done.Empathy is a foreign concept to her. She actually defamed me to try and get the insurer to throw out my claim because she works side by side with the OH&S nurse who calls your case manager if you break wind. These are nasty people even when you're not injured or unwell. If you believed one of your RNs was `impaired and dangerous to patients' would you not speak to them,leave them on full clinical duties with no supervision and just email the OH&S nurse? Who you know will contact the insurer pronto and that employee is now in trouble? That's what she did based upon nothing. No complaints & she doesn't supervise me. |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:18
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
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Hi Foxlass,
I am very concerned about you. Apart from seeing a psychologist have you seen a physio for the pain? Is there a spesific reason why you won't see the insurer's psychologist? they are also there to help you. What does the HR department ( in your work place) say? 9 times out of 10 your manager will want to help you at work and will allocate suitable duties based on the Dr's reports. If you are feeling particularly tired or stressed then you should tell them. Regardless of how they feel about you personally they still have to give you a set number of allocated breaks, a choice of suitable duties ( so if you are particularly tired then a job sitting down like giving hand massage to the residents or simple filing) If your return to work program states that you can resume to normal duties or heavier duties then maybe you should speak to your Dr. As a manager myself I have seen a few workers comp cases, if you work together with the manager and truely want to go back to work on full duties then communication and willingness is the key. Nobody wants you to re-injure yourself or to feel stressed or tired at work. |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:18
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
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Welcome to how to handle injured workers 101.The OT insisted I see a psychologist six months after the injury but only so the insurance company could get reports from him in the hope he would say I was nuts and back up orthopaedic surgeon's opinion. I got to see him once every two - three to four weeks for four months then the file was closed.He said I was perfectly sane and clearly in a lot of pain. The insurer refused to pay for any more counselling unless I saw their shrink. Not exactly a prequisite for counselling.
I tried EAP but unless your problems are so minor they can be melted away in five one hour sessions per year it is useless. They could not even manage to get my file to any session so each time I saw the counsellor I had to fill in the paperwork again and start from scratch as the counsellor had no recollection of who I was and why I came.When I complained to their head office I was told to just put all of that in the past and make another appointment!So professional. I gave up on it.
I have been seeing a psychologist under Medicare but getting appointments with her is very difficult. I tried making them in advance but as my roster is only ever three weeks ahead I always end up having to cancel the appointment because the person writing the roster ignored my request for that day off. She is the only support I have. I have no support from friends or family. I have nobody to speak to outside of weekday business hours unless I ring Lifeline and start from scratch. I guess the only reason I'm still here is shear stubbornness. |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:18
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
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I feel very concerned for you foxylass. Have you had the opportunity to speak to a counseler or psychologist? Your level of distress regarding your initial injury isn't being properly attended to and that's wrong. |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:18
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
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I used to handle it with vigorous exercise but now I have chronic pain and permanent damage to my neck and thoracic back. I wish I could tolerate exercise again.
My stress levels are high ,from going through workers comp, right now that I'm getting dizzy ,flushed and pounding headaches all day long when I'm at work. My employer doesn't care. They have actually condemned me for coming to work looking fatigued !!! |
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Subject :Re:How do you handle stress in the workplace?..
16 02 2010 10:18
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| nurseuncut |
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Joined: 16 02 2010 07:25
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I definatly agree with taking breaks.... even if u just walk off the ward for 5 minutes!!!
And i find running helps.I think just exersise generally, getting out in the fresh air and getting a bit of sun! That has always helped me!!! |
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