Poetry as an Antidote to Burnout - A Nurse's Perspective on Healing Practices: Interview with Susan Farese | Episode 105

Burnout - Causes and Cures

Burnout is costly to employers in several ways:

  1. Employee turnover

  2. Increased risk of worker injury or error

  3. Deteriorating culture as energy becomes misdirected toward scapegoating

Contrary to conventional wisdom, burnout is not solely related to workload, it’s also related to feeling like “a cog in a machine.” When an unsustainable workload becomes even more stressful due to a lack of clarity, lack of control and an effort-reward imbalance, relationships become strained and people become siloed.

According to leading researchers, burnout is identified when three psychological states exist:

  • High levels of cynicism: an indifference, negative perspective

  • High levels of exhaustion: emotional, spiritual and physical

  • Low levels of professional efficacy: the belief in ones ability to make a difference.

Burnout can creep into a workplace and worsen over time. It often starts with an erosion of engagement. Work shifts from important, interesting and meaningful to exhausting. Next comes the erosion of emotions, where cynicism, anger, anxiety and depression start to surface. Finally, burned out workers comes to experience a mismatch between themselves and the organization. They lose faith that the organization has their best interests at heart.

In this episode, I have a delightful conversation with Susan J. Farese, MSN, RN - a “Nurse Entrepreneur”/Nurse Consultant/PR Consultant worker and mentor; a Veteran; a poet and photographer and the owner of PR firm “SJF Communications.” We talk about how burnout is taking its toll on our healthcare teams, and how she uses poetry, among other tools to cope.

About Susan Farese

Susan J. Farese, MSN, RN, a native of New Jersey, is the owner/ president of  SJF Communications, San Diego, CA.

SJF Communications, originally established in 2002 in San Jose, CA, provides communications services including Public Relations, Publicity, Marketing, Websites, Virtual Assisting, Filmmaking, Acting, Social Media, Writing and Public Speaking, Photography, Mentoring, Coaching and Legal Nurse Consulting services.

Ms. Farese has diversified experience in health care/communications, including clinical nursing practice, management, education/training, research and consulting.

She has a Masters Degree in Nursing in Adult Health from Seton Hall University (NJ) and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Widener University (PA).

Susan has presented numerous continuing education classes, seminars, and keynotes. Susan is the author of the book Poetic Expressions in Nursing…Sharing the Caring (1993 and 2021), currently teaches ‘Capturing Your Creativity with Haiku’ workshops and has published poetry and articles on a variety of topics.

In addition to her being on the advisory board of San Diego Film Week, Susan is a member of SAG-AFTRA,  American Legion Post 43Veterans in Media & EntertainmentSan Diego Writers Ink  the San Diego Press Club, the Southern California Writers Association, and the Army Nurse Corps Association.  

Since 2017, Susan has been a Volunteer Mentor in the San Diego State University Aztec Mentor Program.

List of clients at https://sjfcommunications.com/list-of-clients/

Contact SJF Communications at: 408-398-5940 or sjfcommunications@gmail.com.

Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/Sjfcommo


Websites

website: https://sjfcommunications.com

Author Page: https://sjfcommunications.com/author-shop/ 

Amazon Book page: https://amzn.com/dp/173697761X

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Susan-J-Farese/e/B001K7VB6E

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/Sjfcommo

Haiku Workshop Page: https://sjfcommunications.com/haiku-workshops/

 

Social Media

Facebook Page for SJF Communications:   (@sjfcommunications) https://www.facebook.com/sjfcommunications

LinkedIn: (Personal): https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanjfarese/

LinkedIn (Business): https://www.linkedin.com/company/sjfcommunications

Twitter: @sjfcommo https://twitter.com/sjfcommo

Instagram: @sjfcommo  https://instagram.com/sjfcommo

Show Notes

A Bit About Haiku

By Susan J. Farese

Haiku is a short form poetry (3 lines) originating in Japan several centuries ago. It consists of three lines per stanza. In Haiku it’s all about 17 ‘ON’ or sounds. The modern way (and how I teach Haiku in my Capturing Your Creativity with Haiku workshops https://sjfcommunications.com/haiku-workshops/) is a Haiku including 17 syllables- 5 in the first line, 7 in the second line and 5 again in the third line. There is usually a seasonal element in a Haiku (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter).

To write a Haiku, for an example, think of something in nature. Be mindful. Remove distractions, center yourself. Perhaps go outside and explore. Use your senses - what do you see, hear, smell etc. What emotions is the nature evoking? Capture this present powerful moment or image in time with writing your Haiku. Make a keen unusual observation about it or an unexpected perspective or surprise (juxtaposition). Better yet, take a photo and write about it in a Haiku. Best wishes!

Remember, you can either keep your Haiku to yourself, throw it away or share it! I say…SHARE IT!

For more information on our workshop visit: https://sjfcommunications.com/haiku-workshops/

 

 

Here's a few from my book Poetic Expressions in Nursing: Sharing the Caring:

EGRET AT SANTEE LAKES

By Susan J. Farese

 

The water glistened

Fanned plumage captivating!

Great white Egret soared!

BUTTERFLIES MARVEL

By Susan J. Farese

Fickle flutterers

Quick, vividly colorful

Dainty butterflies.

They might land on you

If so, they invite your grin

Butterflies marvel!

Burnout Resources

Compiled by Susan J. Farese, MSN, RN, SJF Communications

 

Burnout in nursing: a theoretical review 

 Dall’Ora, C., Ball, J., Reinius, M. and Griffiths, P.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12960-020-00469-9.pdf

 

Nurse Burnout: Risks, Causes, and Precautions

USAHS (University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (Blog)

https://www.usa.edu/blog/nurse-burnout/,

 

Nurses' burnout and associated risk factors during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis

 Galanis, P., Vraka, I.  Despoina Fragkou, D., Angeliki Bilali, A., Kaitelidou, D.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33764561/

 

Caregiver Burnout (Cleveland Clinic)

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9225-caregive        

 

Workplace Burnout Survey

Burnout without borders

Deloitte’s external survey explores the drivers and impact of prolonged, unmanageable stress that may lead to employee burnout.

https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/burnout-survey.html

  

Factors that Influence the Development of Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Compassion Satisfaction in Emergency Department Nurses

Hunsaker, S., Dale Maughan, D., Heaston, S.

Stacie Hunsaker stacie-hunsaker@byu.edu Dale Maughan Sondra Heaston sondra-heaston@byu.edu

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2557&context=facpub

 

Factors Associated With Burnout Among Physicians: An Evaluation During a Period of COVID-19 Pandemic

Sait Revda Dinibutun

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7501950/

 

Stress and Coping Among Health Professions Students During COVID-19: A Perspective on the Benefits of Mindfulness

Luberto, C., Ph, 2, Goodman, J., Bonnie Halvorson, Wang, A., Haramati, A.

Department of Nursing, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, Massachusetts

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2164956120977827

 

Burnout and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: Intersection, Impact, and Interventions

Restauri, N., Sheridan, A. University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1546144020305469

 

Prevalence and correlates of stress and burnout among U.S. healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A national cross-sectional survey study

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589537021001590

 

Pandemic Stress, Burnout Contribute to Nursing Pipeline Shortage

https://www.reliasmedia.com/articles/148193-pandemic-stress-burnout-contribute-to-nursing-pipeline-shortage

Kreitzer MJ. Voices of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A call to action. Creat Nurs 2021;27:88-93.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33990448/

 

Maunder RG, Heeney ND, Kiss A, et al. Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital workers over time: Relationship to occupational role, living with children and elders, and modifiable factors. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 2021;71:88-94.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33971518/

Graphic to Share

Please, feel free to share this graphic. All we ask is that you link back to this podcast.