Dear Editor,

Ever since I started nursing school, all I hear about is the nursing shortage and how in demand

nurses are which will make getting a job after school, very easy. But what they don’t tell us

about is the nursing burnout that is associated with the shortage. The shortage and burnout of

nurses has only gotten worse since the Covid-19 Pandemic due to over working, under paying,

and the lack of emotional support. Nurse burnout is a severe issue characterized by mental,

emotional, and physical exhaustion in nurses. When we see this kind of burnout, it leads to all

sorts of issues including the health of the nurses and low-quality care and even death in

patients. In nursing school, we are taught all about caring for sick patients but we aren’t taught

about caring for ourselves in stressful situations. Some employers will make staff pick up extra

shifts and work overtime to fill in gaps rather than acknowledging the potential issue of burnout

associated with over working. Prolonged stress caused by the number of patients, long shifts,

and stressful specialties leads to burnout. Nurses who have more than 4 patients, nurses who

work shifts of 10-13 hours as opposed to 8-9 hours, and nurses who work in the ED and ICU,

have higher rates of burnout. Us students are constantly hearing about patient safety and

medical errors. These are two aspects that we can control the patients’ outcome. We need to

learn to be transparent about our mental and emotional health and learn to get help when we

need it. There is a lack of support, lack of communication, and lack of teamwork in the

workforce that eventually leads to medical errors. As a future nurse of America, a big part of

me is terrified to step out into the real world and I am asking for a change and a solution.

Concerned YSU Nursing Student,

Regan LaVigna