Delve Deeper to Avoid Dietitian Burnout
“It’s the same every year. They come, they eat, they leave; that’s our lot in life. It’s not a lot, but it’s our life.”
Although overshadowed by recent Pixar films, who doesn’t know and love A Bug’s Life? This 1998-animated film followed a colony of ants who spent each year gathering food for grasshoppers. This task was non-ending, with the grasshopper’s yearly return.
Although this movie isn’t the perfect metaphor for the average hospital employee, you can’t deny that a parallel exists. We treat every patient that comes through the door but once they’ve recovered enough to be discharged, another person takes their place. The cyclical nature of working inpatient often leads to burnout.
Having a routine for work can be comforting at times. Certainly, having new patients on a daily basis makes work more interesting and engaging. However, going through a diabetic diet education and knowing you have hundreds of identical educations in your future sets the stage for mental burnout. Overall, I enjoy inpatient but there are days when it feels like I’m just slogging through.
In a clinical setting, how do you manage burnout? I think it would be impossible to avoid entirely but managing it successfully can lead to a better work attitude. While this list is certainly not comprehensive, these are a few ways that I’ve found to be solutions.
1. Recognize Burnout
You may be feeling rundown and apathetic at work but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re experiencing burnout. Currently, I’m going through a hard time in my personal life and I feel as though I’m just getting through the day. I’m feeling exhausted just getting through the day but that’s not being caused by my job. If you’re going through a personal crisis, it’s normal for those feelings to carry into your work life. It may be more beneficial to address those personal problems and see if you really are feeling the burnout from your career.
2. Try Something Different
Recently, a friend mentioned that she attended a conference and the keynote speaker made her more enthusiastic about her career. Often taking time from my job to attend training, a conference, or other work-related event can be huge morale boost. It’s all too easy to get tunnel vision but stepping away from your job even for a day or two provides greater perspective and benefits both you and your patients. While this is not always possible, attending at least one conference or training event annually can be beneficial.
Consider also changing to a different position in your hospital. I am currently a general dietitian but would love to be specialized in the ICU or NICU departments. Both offer unique challenges and I enjoy covering these units. I’m not sure where that interest will lead me either my current hospital or a different one but knowing that I have this interest has provided greater clarity.
3. Consider Leaving
What could be a better mental exercise than to consider if you would be better off in another field? Maybe not leaving clinical nutrition entirely, but another job in the area of nutrition. Look around at the jobs in your area and see what’s available. Even if you don’t leave, it’s a great exercise to consider taking on a new challenge. I often find that my current work is more affirming when I see positions that I don’t want.
4. Look for the Burnout Source
Although you can develop burnout at any stage in your career, consider what factors have led to these feelings. Maybe you have a large workload or you don’t feel supported by your colleagues. Any number of reasons can lead to burnout so addressing the root cause may provide benefits.
This doesn’t mean that you can necessarily always resolve the cause though. I often felt burned out working in Tennessee where five dietitians were doing the work of seven. Unfortunately, there was not much interest in resolving that situation by our management. So, my resolution was to leave that position. If you can’t address the burnout cause, you may need to consider other career options although I understand that you may have limited ability to move.
I enjoy my job but it’s certainly time for a change and it may be for you as well. While I’m not currently experiencing burnout, the potential is there and probably will occur without making some career changes.
