Introduction
Nurses are irreplaceable in hospitals, especially when treating intensive care unit patients. An intensive care unit nurse may face various challenges while working in an intensive care unit (ICU) or treating a critically ill or injured patient. The ICU staff, including the nurses, should be mentally, physically, and emotionally intense, as they might require dealing with the patient’s confusion, extreme suffering, end-of-life situations, and bystander’s dilemma. This article briefs the challenges faced by the intensive care unit nurses.
What Do Critical Care Nurses Do?
Critical care nurses or ICU nurses work in specialized departments treating critical patients, intensive care units (ICU), or emergency rooms. They have received training in treating critically ill or injured patients in an emergency. They may also be trained to care for pediatric, cardiac, neonatal, and trauma emergencies. Such patients will be unstable and require special attention, diagnosis, and treatments to prevent or reduce the severity of the following life-threatening events. They closely observe and monitor the condition of the patient. They are educated and trained on the administration of drugs through different routes.
What Causes Physical and Mental Exhaustion in ICU Nurses?
Following are the reasons why ICU nurses get exhausted physically and mentally:
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Long working hours.
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Break-free working hours.
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Inconvenient shift schedules.
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Less organizational support, financial and personnel, are provided to the nurses.
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Staying physically active for prolonged periods.
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Witnessing patients’ sufferings and death.
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Increased demand for ICU nurses due to the reduced number of general nurses committing to specialize in critical care.
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Providing emotional support to the bystanders is a part of their job, and witnessing their hardships can lead to mental stress.
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Underpaid work.
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Extreme control from the management.
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Unequal or unfair work environment which makes them feel less respected and unsafe.
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Protective methods adopted by the ICU staff can be exhausting and heavy. It may hinder the nurse from performing personal activities like drinking, eating, etc.
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Lack of recognition at work.
What Are the Challenges Faced by Critical Care Nurses?
An ICU nurse's challenges can be due to various reasons and can affect their mental and physical well-being. Following are some challenges faced by the nurses while treating critically injured or ill patients:
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Nurse Burnout: The nurses may experience burnout when the work stress gets chronic. Persistent mental exhaustion, physical tiresome, reduced affection towards the job and the work environment, reduced activeness while working, and lack of motivation to do the job are the signs of burnout. ICU nurses are subjected to prolonged and break-free working hours. They also need to observe the patients continuously. In addition, their job requires physical, emotional, and mental participation. ICU nurses witness the patient’s sufferings, life or death decisions made by the family, and end-of-life procedures, which affect their emotional and mental strength. This makes them feel constantly irritated, tired and demotivated. Nurse burnout affects their ability to communicate, judge, and concentrate. It may also affect physical health by impairing digestion and sleep. The nurse might experience insomnia, severe headache, and body pain.
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Compassion Fatigue: Compassion fatigue is a type of secondary trauma experienced by ICU nurses. They are constantly exposed to the extreme pain and suffering experienced by critical patients. Since ICU nurses are expected to provide emotional support, they get soaked in the patient’s and the family’s emotions. Caring for and treating critical patients and providing emotional support to their families gives immense satisfaction to the nurse. Gradually, they absorb the patient’s and the family’s emotions, developing compassion fatigue. It damages their emotional health, making them frustrated, depressed, angry, and irritable. The nurse may also experience headaches, muscle pain, and insomnia due to compassion fatigue. It makes the nurses stay isolated due to hypersensitivity and depression. Anxiety, stress, hopelessness, and negative attitude are other symptoms of compassion fatigue.
How to Prevent Mental Exhaustion in ICU Nurses?
Compassion fatigue, nurse burnout, and other exhausting challenges faced by an ICU nurse can be prevented by the following methods:
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Taking Adequate Rest: It is essential to get enough rest, whatever the profession is. If they start experiencing mental or physical signs of exhaustion, ICU nurses should consider taking a break to get adequate sleep and rest. Even if the shift schedule is inconvenient, the professionals should consider sleeping during the available off hours.
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Relaxation Techniques: Relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga, and other mindfulness programs will help overcome stress ad other mental health issues. It helps improve focus, balance, motivation, and positive thinking ability. Enrolling in short wellness sessions can be considered.
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Healthy Dieting: Prolonged working hours drain energy. Hence, nutrient intake is vital to regain the lost fuel and to maintain physical health. Most working people depend on fast or junk food, negatively affecting their physical health. Therefore, the consumption of a balanced diet should be given prime importance.
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Physical Exercise: An ICU nurse's physical exertion during working hours is insufficient to improve their physical health. On the contrary, it may affect posture and muscle strength inversely. Therefore, critical care nurses should consider doing physical exercises like strength training, cardio workouts, or yoga regularly. Mere stretching can improve posture and relieve muscle aches caused during work exertion.
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Asking for Help: Sharing the emotional and mental difficulties with colleagues, family, or a therapist may provide relief.
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Spreading Awareness: Spreading awareness about the emotions an ICU nurse may encounter, their causes, and the management tips may help them overcome the challenges. In addition, the management should also take necessary actions for an encouraging work environment.
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Taking Break: Taking a break and spending some time away from the routine atmosphere can help the professional to rejuvenate and self-encourage for future working days.
Conclusion
A critical care nurse encounters many emotional, physical, and mental challenges. ICU experiences may drain their energy, which needs to be fixed for better well-being. ICU nurses should emphasize self-care by eating healthy, practicing mindfulness, exercising, and getting mental support from colleagues or a professional therapist. Spreading awareness will help them recognize the exhaustion they are experiencing and to take adequate measures to overcome their challenges. In addition, the management and superior staff should also help them work in a positive and encouraging environment.
