Coping Mechanisms for Job Stress?

[Waterlily Pad]

OP, your job is eating you alive. Nothing wrong with you. The job is just not good for you.

With your natural tendency to want to solve problems and ease patients' pain (hence you chose the occupation), look to find a more peaceful role, one that at the end of your shift leaves you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, rather than the constant guilt of not doing enough. That's not going to work for you long term.

No need for therapy, because you are not sick. Do not take medication or alcohol to cover the stress.

Be a good nurse to yourself first. Change your job.

[jonesg]

Originally Posted by canudigit

I am an RN who works from home doing telephone triage. I feel very blessed to be able to work from home most of the time, but I am having a problem with job stress and how to cope with it and I was wondering if anyone has any pointers?

Basically, my job can be very stressful. I work nights and towards the end of my shift the call volume gets pretty high and there are some serious issues for which I need to contact on call medical personnel, enter documentation, etc. When the calls start rolling in back to back I get a panicky feeling like I'm not going to be able to get everything done on time and please everyone who has a need. We have to take calls for multiple agencies simultaneously, so I have to change gears every time a different agency calls. Sometimes the on call personnel don't answer their phones in a timely manner and then I have to keep trying while a patient is waiting and suffering, and this is very, very hard to cope with. I know it is my extreme type A personality and people pleasing tendencies that cause me to freak out when all of this happens, but I don't know how to handle it in a calm and rational manner. It's not when I'm on the phone, I am calm and pleasant on the phone. It's when I hang up and start freaking out and my dog goes and hides under the bed, which would be funny but it's not.

Anyway, I know that long term therapy would be beneficial, but in the meantime, I need immediate coping mechanism, thought processes if you will, that will cause me to regroup and calm down in the middle of everything. I've tried, "I'm only one person, I can only do so much, if I can't please everyone, oh well", but that doesn't convince me at all, because I really DO want to please everyone.

Can anyone relate to what I'm describing with your job as well, and if so, what mechanisms do you use to cope and stay calm? Please, no snarky answers or suggestions to find a different job, etc., because I really am good at my job and get great feedback from patients, families, on call personnel, and my own manager, and about 90% of the time it's fine, it's just when it's crazy busy that I fall apart.

Stress is in the person, not the work.
I know nursing, theres a level of responsibility not seen in other jobs.
All the competent nurses I know are relaxed and confident.
They pray, they rely on God, not self.

[usamathman]

Find a good man that you can spend some time with when you are not working. The right one will help take your mind off of the b.s. you have to deal with.