January 20, 2025 • 23 mins
Ep. 43: In this episode, Dr. Lendra discusses the pressing issue of burnout among nurses, particularly focusing on the unique challenges faced by women of color in the healthcare field. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing the signs of burnout, the need for intentionality in personal and professional growth, and the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion in addressing systemic issues within healthcare. Dr. Lendra shares her personal journey, insights from her book, Confessions Of A Nurse Executive: Conscious and Unconscious Bias In Healthcare, and offers resources for nurses seeking to overcome burnout and achieve financial independence through mentorship and community support.
We understand the unique challenges nurses and healthcare professionals face, and we’re here to help you thrive. Download your FREE Nurse Beat Burnout Guide—a powerful resource crafted to empower you with actionable strategies to reclaim your energy and purpose.
But that’s not all. 🎯 Join us for an exclusive FREE webinar: The Secrets to Transform Burnout Into Breakthrough, happening January 22, 2025, at 2 PM.
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Topics include:
Starting an IV Hydration Business,
Becoming a Legal Nurse Consultant,
Building a Mental Health NP practice,
Navigating Government Contracting,
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Gain practical strategies, insider knowledge, and tools to turn your nursing expertise into a profitable venture. Don’t miss this opportunity to invest in your future and build
This is your opportunity to gain expert insights and proven techniques to overcome burnout and unlock your full potential—all in a supportive, professional environment tailored just for you.
Takeaways
Burnout is a significant issue in nursing, especially for women of color.
Recognizing the signs of burnout is the first step to overcoming it.
Intentionality in personal and professional growth is crucial.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential in healthcare settings.
Personal experiences with burnout can inform how we help others.
Self-care and advocacy are vital for overcoming burnout.
Creating a supportive community can aid in recovery from burnout.
Health and wealth are interconnected in the journey to recovery.
Mentorship plays a key role in supporting nurses.
Burnout can lead to new beginnings and personal growth.
Sound Bites
"I want to help you overcome burnout."
"You need to really take a step back."
"You have to choose you."
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Burnout and Breakthrough Coaching
00:46 Understanding Burnout: Signs and Symptoms
05:39 The Impact of Bias in Healthcare
10:54 Personal Stories and Experiences with Burnout
16:48 Creating a Path to Recovery and Empowerment
20:27 Upcoming Events and Resources for Nurses
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome back to another episode of Nurses with voices. I'm Dr. Lendra, and
there's a lot going on in the country right now. And I said
that it's a new year. I want to talk to my audience and
talk to my listeners because there's so much to talk about. There's so much going
on. I wanted to talk with you guys for the next few weeks
on my own, just me and the listeners, give you guys
(00:22):
some tips, share some advice, and also share a little
bit more of my story that is, that may be relatable
to you. I think it's important for you guys to know where I
started and how I got to where I am. And that's what I
want to talk about today. And hopefully some of the things that I'm going to
talk about. I hope it hits home with you. It's relatable and you
(00:45):
can have some takeaways from it. As a woman and a woman of
color, I have encountered biases that led to
burnout. And I talked about it in my book, Confessions of a Nurse
Executive. And I'm excited to spend this next 30 minutes or so with
you really diving into a topic that is near
to my heart, a topic that I'm pretty passionate about and a topic that
(01:07):
I am passionate about helping other nurses
overcome. And I'm sure if you, if you know me and if you've been
following me, you probably know what I'm about to say, right? It's a
new year, and it's really time to break through
my word of the year. My word of the month is increased. And I
really want you to find a word. I want you to find your final word.
(01:29):
I know we all have New Year's resolutions and
I want you to be intentional this year. What is
your intention? It's a new year. It's a lot going
on right now in the, not only in the healthcare community,
but just throughout the country and throughout the world. There's so much going on
and it tells us that in 2025, we need to be more
(01:51):
intentional. And from my word of the month for
2025 is increase and
how I was able to get here. It took it, it
took mentorship, it took coaching, and it took self
discipline. And you have to have and be able to have
that self discipline. Listen, if you're listening today,
(02:12):
one of the things that, you know, that I talk a lot about is burnout.
And I want to give you some takeaways. And over the next
few weeks, instead of, you know, I know you guys See that I do a
lot of interviews over the next few weeks. I want to spend some time
with you, and I want to tell you a little history on my journey and
the things that I've done. A lot of people talk about burnout,
(02:34):
but I'm not sure if anyone, including myself, outside of
my mentorship programs, I'm not sure if we really understand how
to help you break through from that burnout and whether that
burnout is you're tired of being a bedside nurse, whether
you're burned out as a nurse leader, and maybe you're looking to
transition, and how do you do that? And I want to help you with
(02:56):
that. But first, you have to really be able to identify where the burnout
comes from. Something I want to share with you today. I want to share with
you three telltale signs that you are
experiencing burnout and you're ready for change. So listen, grab your cup of
coffee, keep your ear pods on as you're driving to
work. Wherever you're living, listening, or however you're listening, listen up, because
(03:17):
I want to share these three telltale things with you so that you'll know and
identify what you're going through, but also know what's more
importantly, that you can overcome this. And I think that's one of the biggest
things. The first thing you have to do is recognize it. So I'm
going to just dive right in. The first sign. The first sign
in recognizing the burnout is exhaustion, meaning you
(03:39):
are drained. You feel so drained, constantly
fatigued, and you're just struggling to find a way.
You're struggling to find joy in your personal life,
and you just can't do it. That's one of the first signs to know
that you are experiencing burnout. You're just. You're just feeling hopeless, and
you don't. You just don't know what else to do. The second thing is
(04:02):
you have a decrease in your sense of
achievement. And what you know, you might be saying, like, well, what do you mean
by that, Dr. Lendra? You question your ability, and it makes you
question what you're doing or if what you're doing is even making
a difference. And this is where that mindset comes in. When you have to
have a mindset of abundance and keep your cup
(04:23):
half full as opposed to it being half empty. And. And let me give you
some examples. You might feel like, oh, my
gosh, this charting is never ending. Or if you're a nurse
leader, you may be thinking or saying to yourself, I'm so sick of these chart
reviews, or you're tired of doing leader rounding, or you're a
bedside nurse and your patient calls and you just left the room, and
(04:46):
you just have no. You have no incentive of going back
into that room. You just have a decreased sense of accomplishment, and you
feel like this shift is just never ending. You have to know it
gets better, or your patient care feels like it's just robotic.
Like, you feel like, okay, you've done this. You're ready to do
something else, and you just don't know how to transition. And you just feel
(05:08):
like just robotic. Everything is. The tasks are the same.
Everything you're doing is the same. And it's just like, okay, what. What's the
difference? This patient is just coming right back into the hospital. They're not
listening. Everything just feels robotic, and it's just not working out for you. The
third sign, that feeling of detachment, you just feel
like you're detached from everything, or you just. You.
(05:30):
That feeling of detachment or cynicism, you're
emotionally detached from your patients, your co workers, or even
your family. Those are red flags. And sometimes we dismiss
it as, oh, I just need a vacation. No, you need a
change. And you need to really take a step back and really
reevaluate where you are in your journey before you lose
(05:52):
your passion completely. Because that's definitely not what you want. And trust me,
it's much deeper than that. It's much deeper than I need a vacation,
because how often have you taken those PTO days? And that. Seven. Still
not enough. I know. I've talked to nurses who, especially during
COVID where they said they would try to group their days
together and take time off, and then they would come back and it would just
(06:14):
still be the same. I want you to take a moment to reflect and see
if these are the type of signs that you're experiencing.
And because I want you to know that change is possible now. This week, we're
celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. And
you know that his mantra was having a dream.
And part of that dream meant change. People don't like the word change.
(06:36):
People feel like, oh, as soon as you say change, people are like, oh, why
you want to change this? I'm used to this. I'm used to my routine. But
if your routine is burning you out, it's time to change. So
maybe change isn't the word. Maybe it's time for you to increase,
right? Maybe it's time for you to transition. Maybe it's time for you to
increase in the way you're thinking about Change, Right.
(06:57):
It's time for you to increase your way of thinking. It's time for you to
increase who you're around. It's time to. For you to increase your
environment. And again, that's my word. My word of the
month is increase. That may not be your word. You may want to find another
word that's going to help you to break through from this endless
cycle of what you're feeling right now. So I want you to really
(07:18):
reflect on these three telltale signs of what
burnout looks like. I want you to really reflect on it and really start to
think, how am I going to get past this and how I'm going to get
over it. For those of you who may or may not be aware, I'm the
author of Confessions of a Nurse Executive with the subtitle of the
Conscious and Unconscious Bias in Healthcare. Now, my story, as a
(07:39):
woman and a woman of color, in an environment where you're often
overlooked for certain positions or with
certain ideas, it can lead to a level
of burnout. And I had to realize that that was because of
bias. Now, when we look at our society and how we're taking
away things like affirmative action, which is really providing
(08:01):
challenges for diversity, equity and inclusion, and I think
it's fitting, especially since we're celebrating Martin Luther King
Jr's birthday. So I think it's fitting to talk about the tie in bei
you want to think about how this man started a movement. He started
a civil rights movement. And one of the things that he did was the
desegregation of the buses and the transportation.
(08:24):
Right. That it went on for over a year and a half
when black people actually boycotted the bus system,
and it started a whole movement. And you have to
start thinking about these things when we're taking away affirmative
action. It's not about the reverse racism that some
people are trying to make this about. It's about
(08:46):
our ancestors. Right? Family members. My mother rode the back of the
bus. So she can tell you, my mother was born in the east and
she rode the back of the bus. So when
it's said that, oh, well, this is reverse racism,
and now we're being discriminatory with tours up.
No. Did any of your ancestors
(09:09):
have to ride the back of a bus? Was that your story?
And so now with certain education and history
being taken out of the schools, what would you call that? So what
do you call that? And I truly want to know, I really would
like to know, what's the idea of taking the
edge? Because this is our history so why try to erase history?
(09:32):
And that's kind of what you're doing. So why do we have a Martin
Luther King Jr. Holiday? If we're going to
erase history, are we going to then erase the holiday as
well? So how do we explain that we celebrate
Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday? Why are we observing him?
Why does he have a monument in Washington D.C. how
(09:54):
do you explain that? And by removing things like
affirmative action, it just really
perpetuates the reason why it was put in
place in the first place. Think about what
I just said. If
action was put in place for a reason and it was put in place so
(10:15):
that there can be diversity, the healthcare
system is a perfect example. If we just have the same people
making decisions from the top and there's no
diversity, we're missing out on, on the voices
that should be heard within our communities. And I'm going to share with you a
chapter in my book that talks about this. I've actually shared
(10:38):
this story before, so it's not new. Some people have heard this.
So. But I'm going to share with you, the listeners, so that you can hear
what. And this was actually a real experience. And I want to share with
you something that I talk about in a chapter in my book. And
this particular chapter is called Constructive
Discharge. And the reason I'm going to share with you and
(11:01):
you'll hear why. Now, keep in mind, there were a number of
other things that for me, I knew it was time for me to
resign. And when we talk about burnout, the three things
that I mentioned to you, those were three things that I experienced
myself, which is why I can tell you. And
listen, when you start to read the textbooks and when
(11:23):
you start to get more information behind burnout and where it comes
from, you'll start to say to yourself, oh my gosh, like, this
is like classic symptoms. These are classic signs. But I
want to read this to you. The corporate chief of quality made a shocking
remark that sent shockwaves through the room.
Her insensitive words, laden with racial insensitivity,
(11:44):
cut deep into the hearts of those present. She seemed to take issue with
the way the CNO was presenting the information and addressed the room
with which was 50% black, saying, if
y'all don't do something about that seven figure fine, y'all will be on a
plantation picking cotton. Now this is such a
disgusting and disheartening remark to make, especially to a
(12:07):
room full of African Americans. Well, 50%,
that's enough, right? African Americans. And this highlights an
example of why it's so important to have
affirmative actions, why it's so important to have diversity,
equity and inclusion. Because if we just have the
same people at certain levels and there's no diversity,
(12:29):
how can we really capture what our community needs?
And this is if it's all white, if it's all
black, if it's all Hispanic, if it's all
Filipino, I'm talking it needs to be diversity,
however you look at it. And one of the reasons I also talk about this
in in the same chapter, which I'm going to share with you,
(12:51):
I talk about the reasons why. Now, that comment that I just read to
you is not only racially insensitive, but it also is also a
reflection. It's also a reflection of the underlying
healthcare disparities and bias that exists for both
patients and healthcare workers. 1. Racial disparities in
Healthcare Outcomes the comment highlights a stark
(13:13):
reality within the healthcare system racial disparities in
healthcare outcomes. Studies have consistently shown
that patients from minority racial and ethnic backgrounds often
face poorer health outcomes compared to their white
counterparts. Factors such as delayed access to care,
misdiagnosis, and inadequate treatment contribute
(13:35):
to these disparities. By making this insensitive
remark, it trivialized the very real challenges
faced by minority patients, implying that their health
concerns were somehow less important. The
second point I want to make is the disparities in access to
leadership positions. The comment also points to the
(13:57):
disparities in leadership positions within healthcare
organizations. For healthcare workers of color, breaking through
the glass ceiling to reach executive roles can be exceptionally
challenging. The lack of representation can trickle down to
affect patient care as diverse perspective or as
diverse perspectives often missing from decision
(14:19):
making processes. This is so true. This is
very true. Unless you live it, you may
not understand what it means and these type of
issues lead to burnout. When you deal with this
time and time and time again you get to a
point and I know for me I got to a point where I
(14:42):
said no more. So for me the best
decision was for me to choose me. I chose self care
advocacy and for me that's how I overcame burnout.
And you too have to choose yourself. Our
theme for the Health and Wealth Expo is It starts with
me. My mantra is I empower nurses to break
(15:04):
through burnout and achieve financial independence and how
I do that is through courses, mentorship and events. Events
like the Health and Wealth Expo. Now we have an
upcoming virtual summit that is coming up on February
22, 2025 and if you have not
registered or if you have not heard about it, I want you guys to go
(15:25):
right on ahead and register. There is a link. I will make
sure the link is in the show notes and you can go ahead
and register. Right now there is a registration availability on
Eventbrite but you can also log
into
Healthandwealthexpos.com.
The full website should be up later this week, but for now you can register
(15:48):
on Eventbrite. During these events we talk about
breaking through the burnout. We thought we talk about how it
starts with me. And when I say me, I mean you. You
want to create a legacy of health and wealth
and staying in environments where you're burnt out. You
cannot achieve health that way. I know for me, walking
(16:09):
away from the traditional setting of nursing, for me it
was health promotion, it was self care advocacy
and it was probably for me, right? This was my choice. It was one of
the best things I could have done. Now I did all the things
right within leadership and in more than one institution. I did all
the things decrease fall rates, I have great patient
(16:31):
experience. I opened programs, closed programs, I opened
units. I did all the things as a nurse and a nurse leader, I mean
I did travel nursing, I did a lot. For me, it wasn't
about the responsibility because as a nurse leader, I did all the
things. Now,
Could I have been
(16:52):
more nurturing to my staff? Maybe.
But I say that to say I knew what I went through and I
was molding them to be great nurses. And when I look back now and
when I see some of these nurses are now nurse managers, some of
these nurses are now they've moved on to other areas of the
hospital and if they reflect themselves,
(17:15):
they'll see it was because of what they were taught and what they
learned as a nurse in the beginning. Now I do
also believe that nurses need to feed their young because we do go
through it as nurses and even as nurse leaders. And because of
that, which is why I've created and have more of a
nurturing realm and have more of a
(17:36):
mentoring, because I never had mentoring, I never had
mentoring as a nurse leader, as a nurse working in the hospital, I never had
mentoring, I never had mentorship. And
that's why it's so important for me now to give back to nurses
so that they can have mentorship. So I say all of
this to say that there is a way out. And just going
(17:58):
back to why I curated the Health and Wealth Expo
or just going back to the understanding of the Health and Wealth Expo
flow, for me, leaving the traditional Setting was all about
health promotion for me and me choosing me. And by doing
so, it introduced me to what wealth
could look like. So not only did I save my mental health
(18:20):
and I was able to even decrease my blood
pressure because we don't think about our environment
sometime can really lead us to be physically
sick. And at the time I was having blood
pressure issues, my blood pressure was on the borderline. And as
soon as I removed that stressor, my blood pressure
(18:42):
normalized. So again, you have to choose you. And
by me choosing me, it was one of the best decisions I
ever did. Now the wealth piece of it
again. Me starting my wellness business. I
stepped away from the traditional setting and I started a wellness
business. And by doing so, me starting my wellness business
(19:04):
introduced me to what wealth could look like, and not just from my
wellness business. I wrote a book, and from my book,
we had a book launch. From the book launch, we got into a lot of
discussions surrounding health and wealth and bias and health care. And
from that, the Health and wealth Expo was curated. And
now I'm able to help other nurses and other health care
(19:26):
professionals. Also breakthrough burnout and break through
ceilings. Now, you may not want to start a business and that's
okay, but maybe you're stuck and you don't know how to
transition. We help with that too. Our
upcoming virtual summit is going to be all about starting a
business. It's going to be about how to start a IV
(19:47):
hydration business, how to start a legal nurse consulting business, how to start
a mental health nurse practitioner business. And we're going to talk about
government contracting. And then of course, we're going to talk about financial
literacy. You can't have a health and wealth expo without talking about funding
and without talking about how you save and what you need to be doing with
your retirement and life insurance. So we're going to talk about those topics
(20:10):
as well. And as a bonus session, when you upgrade
to all access, you're going to get access to the replays. And as
a bonus session, you'll be able to get access to a session
about funding, about grants, how to fund that business that you want to
start. I'm super excited to be able to pull this together,
but I say all this to say you have to be able to first recognize
(20:32):
where your burnout comes from. And from there, you can
determine where you're going and how you're going to overcome it, because
it can be overcome and sometimes it's just individualized
as to how you overcome it. Of course, yes, you could do
meditation you may need a therapist. You may need to
really find a circle in a community that could really support you
(20:54):
so that you can overcome it. And that's one of the things that we
offer. But know this. Know that there are
resources for you to overcome your burnout. Change is
possible and necessary. Take small steps towards your
breakthrough. If you'd like, make sure you get a copy of my book,
Confessions of a Nurse the Conscious and Unconscious Bias in Health Care.
(21:16):
Here. I'll make sure to put the link in the show notes. You can.
You can get the link from my Instagram. The book is also available
on Amazon. And I started a new community on LinkedIn. It's the
burnout to Breakthrough Nurse Alliance Network. Feel free to
join. It's a free, private community that is still growing.
I'm looking to really see what resources that all
(21:38):
of you want to know about so that we can really make this a thriving
community. Make sure that you guys stay tuned for next week.
I just want to end with saying burnout doesn't mean the end of your career.
It's the beginning of discovering what truly lights you up.
So until next time, make sure that you stay educated,
stay inspired, and stay empowered.
Welcome back to another episode of Nurses with voices. I'm Dr. Lendra, and
there's a lot going on in the country right now. And I said
that it's a new year. I want to talk to my audience and
talk to my listeners because there's so much to talk about. There's so much going
on. I wanted to talk with you guys for the next few weeks
on my own, just me and the listeners, give you guys
(00:22):
some tips, share some advice, and also share a little
bit more of my story that is, that may be relatable
to you. I think it's important for you guys to know where I
started and how I got to where I am. And that's what I
want to talk about today. And hopefully some of the things that I'm going to
talk about. I hope it hits home with you. It's relatable and you
(00:45):
can have some takeaways from it. As a woman and a woman of
color, I have encountered biases that led to
burnout. And I talked about it in my book, Confessions of a Nurse
Executive. And I'm excited to spend this next 30 minutes or so with
you really diving into a topic that is near
to my heart, a topic that I'm pretty passionate about and a topic that
(01:07):
I am passionate about helping other nurses
overcome. And I'm sure if you, if you know me and if you've been
following me, you probably know what I'm about to say, right? It's a
new year, and it's really time to break through
my word of the year. My word of the month is increased. And I
really want you to find a word. I want you to find your final word.
(01:29):
I know we all have New Year's resolutions and
I want you to be intentional this year. What is
your intention? It's a new year. It's a lot going
on right now in the, not only in the healthcare community,
but just throughout the country and throughout the world. There's so much going on
and it tells us that in 2025, we need to be more
(01:51):
intentional. And from my word of the month for
2025 is increase and
how I was able to get here. It took it, it
took mentorship, it took coaching, and it took self
discipline. And you have to have and be able to have
that self discipline. Listen, if you're listening today,
(02:12):
one of the things that, you know, that I talk a lot about is burnout.
And I want to give you some takeaways. And over the next
few weeks, instead of, you know, I know you guys See that I do a
lot of interviews over the next few weeks. I want to spend some time
with you, and I want to tell you a little history on my journey and
the things that I've done. A lot of people talk about burnout,
(02:34):
but I'm not sure if anyone, including myself, outside of
my mentorship programs, I'm not sure if we really understand how
to help you break through from that burnout and whether that
burnout is you're tired of being a bedside nurse, whether
you're burned out as a nurse leader, and maybe you're looking to
transition, and how do you do that? And I want to help you with
(02:56):
that. But first, you have to really be able to identify where the burnout
comes from. Something I want to share with you today. I want to share with
you three telltale signs that you are
experiencing burnout and you're ready for change. So listen, grab your cup of
coffee, keep your ear pods on as you're driving to
work. Wherever you're living, listening, or however you're listening, listen up, because
(03:17):
I want to share these three telltale things with you so that you'll know and
identify what you're going through, but also know what's more
importantly, that you can overcome this. And I think that's one of the biggest
things. The first thing you have to do is recognize it. So I'm
going to just dive right in. The first sign. The first sign
in recognizing the burnout is exhaustion, meaning you
(03:39):
are drained. You feel so drained, constantly
fatigued, and you're just struggling to find a way.
You're struggling to find joy in your personal life,
and you just can't do it. That's one of the first signs to know
that you are experiencing burnout. You're just. You're just feeling hopeless, and
you don't. You just don't know what else to do. The second thing is
(04:02):
you have a decrease in your sense of
achievement. And what you know, you might be saying, like, well, what do you mean
by that, Dr. Lendra? You question your ability, and it makes you
question what you're doing or if what you're doing is even making
a difference. And this is where that mindset comes in. When you have to
have a mindset of abundance and keep your cup
(04:23):
half full as opposed to it being half empty. And. And let me give you
some examples. You might feel like, oh, my
gosh, this charting is never ending. Or if you're a nurse
leader, you may be thinking or saying to yourself, I'm so sick of these chart
reviews, or you're tired of doing leader rounding, or you're a
bedside nurse and your patient calls and you just left the room, and
(04:46):
you just have no. You have no incentive of going back
into that room. You just have a decreased sense of accomplishment, and you
feel like this shift is just never ending. You have to know it
gets better, or your patient care feels like it's just robotic.
Like, you feel like, okay, you've done this. You're ready to do
something else, and you just don't know how to transition. And you just feel
(05:08):
like just robotic. Everything is. The tasks are the same.
Everything you're doing is the same. And it's just like, okay, what. What's the
difference? This patient is just coming right back into the hospital. They're not
listening. Everything just feels robotic, and it's just not working out for you. The
third sign, that feeling of detachment, you just feel
like you're detached from everything, or you just. You.
(05:30):
That feeling of detachment or cynicism, you're
emotionally detached from your patients, your co workers, or even
your family. Those are red flags. And sometimes we dismiss
it as, oh, I just need a vacation. No, you need a
change. And you need to really take a step back and really
reevaluate where you are in your journey before you lose
(05:52):
your passion completely. Because that's definitely not what you want. And trust me,
it's much deeper than that. It's much deeper than I need a vacation,
because how often have you taken those PTO days? And that. Seven. Still
not enough. I know. I've talked to nurses who, especially during
COVID where they said they would try to group their days
together and take time off, and then they would come back and it would just
(06:14):
still be the same. I want you to take a moment to reflect and see
if these are the type of signs that you're experiencing.
And because I want you to know that change is possible now. This week, we're
celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. And
you know that his mantra was having a dream.
And part of that dream meant change. People don't like the word change.
(06:36):
People feel like, oh, as soon as you say change, people are like, oh, why
you want to change this? I'm used to this. I'm used to my routine. But
if your routine is burning you out, it's time to change. So
maybe change isn't the word. Maybe it's time for you to increase,
right? Maybe it's time for you to transition. Maybe it's time for you to
increase in the way you're thinking about Change, Right.
(06:57):
It's time for you to increase your way of thinking. It's time for you to
increase who you're around. It's time to. For you to increase your
environment. And again, that's my word. My word of the
month is increase. That may not be your word. You may want to find another
word that's going to help you to break through from this endless
cycle of what you're feeling right now. So I want you to really
(07:18):
reflect on these three telltale signs of what
burnout looks like. I want you to really reflect on it and really start to
think, how am I going to get past this and how I'm going to get
over it. For those of you who may or may not be aware, I'm the
author of Confessions of a Nurse Executive with the subtitle of the
Conscious and Unconscious Bias in Healthcare. Now, my story, as a
(07:39):
woman and a woman of color, in an environment where you're often
overlooked for certain positions or with
certain ideas, it can lead to a level
of burnout. And I had to realize that that was because of
bias. Now, when we look at our society and how we're taking
away things like affirmative action, which is really providing
(08:01):
challenges for diversity, equity and inclusion, and I think
it's fitting, especially since we're celebrating Martin Luther King
Jr's birthday. So I think it's fitting to talk about the tie in bei
you want to think about how this man started a movement. He started
a civil rights movement. And one of the things that he did was the
desegregation of the buses and the transportation.
(08:24):
Right. That it went on for over a year and a half
when black people actually boycotted the bus system,
and it started a whole movement. And you have to
start thinking about these things when we're taking away affirmative
action. It's not about the reverse racism that some
people are trying to make this about. It's about
(08:46):
our ancestors. Right? Family members. My mother rode the back of the
bus. So she can tell you, my mother was born in the east and
she rode the back of the bus. So when
it's said that, oh, well, this is reverse racism,
and now we're being discriminatory with tours up.
No. Did any of your ancestors
(09:09):
have to ride the back of a bus? Was that your story?
And so now with certain education and history
being taken out of the schools, what would you call that? So what
do you call that? And I truly want to know, I really would
like to know, what's the idea of taking the
edge? Because this is our history so why try to erase history?
(09:32):
And that's kind of what you're doing. So why do we have a Martin
Luther King Jr. Holiday? If we're going to
erase history, are we going to then erase the holiday as
well? So how do we explain that we celebrate
Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday? Why are we observing him?
Why does he have a monument in Washington D.C. how
(09:54):
do you explain that? And by removing things like
affirmative action, it just really
perpetuates the reason why it was put in
place in the first place. Think about what
I just said. If
action was put in place for a reason and it was put in place so
(10:15):
that there can be diversity, the healthcare
system is a perfect example. If we just have the same people
making decisions from the top and there's no
diversity, we're missing out on, on the voices
that should be heard within our communities. And I'm going to share with you a
chapter in my book that talks about this. I've actually shared
(10:38):
this story before, so it's not new. Some people have heard this.
So. But I'm going to share with you, the listeners, so that you can hear
what. And this was actually a real experience. And I want to share with
you something that I talk about in a chapter in my book. And
this particular chapter is called Constructive
Discharge. And the reason I'm going to share with you and
(11:01):
you'll hear why. Now, keep in mind, there were a number of
other things that for me, I knew it was time for me to
resign. And when we talk about burnout, the three things
that I mentioned to you, those were three things that I experienced
myself, which is why I can tell you. And
listen, when you start to read the textbooks and when
(11:23):
you start to get more information behind burnout and where it comes
from, you'll start to say to yourself, oh my gosh, like, this
is like classic symptoms. These are classic signs. But I
want to read this to you. The corporate chief of quality made a shocking
remark that sent shockwaves through the room.
Her insensitive words, laden with racial insensitivity,
(11:44):
cut deep into the hearts of those present. She seemed to take issue with
the way the CNO was presenting the information and addressed the room
with which was 50% black, saying, if
y'all don't do something about that seven figure fine, y'all will be on a
plantation picking cotton. Now this is such a
disgusting and disheartening remark to make, especially to a
(12:07):
room full of African Americans. Well, 50%,
that's enough, right? African Americans. And this highlights an
example of why it's so important to have
affirmative actions, why it's so important to have diversity,
equity and inclusion. Because if we just have the
same people at certain levels and there's no diversity,
(12:29):
how can we really capture what our community needs?
And this is if it's all white, if it's all
black, if it's all Hispanic, if it's all
Filipino, I'm talking it needs to be diversity,
however you look at it. And one of the reasons I also talk about this
in in the same chapter, which I'm going to share with you,
(12:51):
I talk about the reasons why. Now, that comment that I just read to
you is not only racially insensitive, but it also is also a
reflection. It's also a reflection of the underlying
healthcare disparities and bias that exists for both
patients and healthcare workers. 1. Racial disparities in
Healthcare Outcomes the comment highlights a stark
(13:13):
reality within the healthcare system racial disparities in
healthcare outcomes. Studies have consistently shown
that patients from minority racial and ethnic backgrounds often
face poorer health outcomes compared to their white
counterparts. Factors such as delayed access to care,
misdiagnosis, and inadequate treatment contribute
(13:35):
to these disparities. By making this insensitive
remark, it trivialized the very real challenges
faced by minority patients, implying that their health
concerns were somehow less important. The
second point I want to make is the disparities in access to
leadership positions. The comment also points to the
(13:57):
disparities in leadership positions within healthcare
organizations. For healthcare workers of color, breaking through
the glass ceiling to reach executive roles can be exceptionally
challenging. The lack of representation can trickle down to
affect patient care as diverse perspective or as
diverse perspectives often missing from decision
(14:19):
making processes. This is so true. This is
very true. Unless you live it, you may
not understand what it means and these type of
issues lead to burnout. When you deal with this
time and time and time again you get to a
point and I know for me I got to a point where I
(14:42):
said no more. So for me the best
decision was for me to choose me. I chose self care
advocacy and for me that's how I overcame burnout.
And you too have to choose yourself. Our
theme for the Health and Wealth Expo is It starts with
me. My mantra is I empower nurses to break
(15:04):
through burnout and achieve financial independence and how
I do that is through courses, mentorship and events. Events
like the Health and Wealth Expo. Now we have an
upcoming virtual summit that is coming up on February
22, 2025 and if you have not
registered or if you have not heard about it, I want you guys to go
(15:25):
right on ahead and register. There is a link. I will make
sure the link is in the show notes and you can go ahead
and register. Right now there is a registration availability on
Eventbrite but you can also log
into
Healthandwealthexpos.com.
The full website should be up later this week, but for now you can register
(15:48):
on Eventbrite. During these events we talk about
breaking through the burnout. We thought we talk about how it
starts with me. And when I say me, I mean you. You
want to create a legacy of health and wealth
and staying in environments where you're burnt out. You
cannot achieve health that way. I know for me, walking
(16:09):
away from the traditional setting of nursing, for me it
was health promotion, it was self care advocacy
and it was probably for me, right? This was my choice. It was one of
the best things I could have done. Now I did all the things
right within leadership and in more than one institution. I did all
the things decrease fall rates, I have great patient
(16:31):
experience. I opened programs, closed programs, I opened
units. I did all the things as a nurse and a nurse leader, I mean
I did travel nursing, I did a lot. For me, it wasn't
about the responsibility because as a nurse leader, I did all the
things. Now,
Could I have been
(16:52):
more nurturing to my staff? Maybe.
But I say that to say I knew what I went through and I
was molding them to be great nurses. And when I look back now and
when I see some of these nurses are now nurse managers, some of
these nurses are now they've moved on to other areas of the
hospital and if they reflect themselves,
(17:15):
they'll see it was because of what they were taught and what they
learned as a nurse in the beginning. Now I do
also believe that nurses need to feed their young because we do go
through it as nurses and even as nurse leaders. And because of
that, which is why I've created and have more of a
nurturing realm and have more of a
(17:36):
mentoring, because I never had mentoring, I never had
mentoring as a nurse leader, as a nurse working in the hospital, I never had
mentoring, I never had mentorship. And
that's why it's so important for me now to give back to nurses
so that they can have mentorship. So I say all of
this to say that there is a way out. And just going
(17:58):
back to why I curated the Health and Wealth Expo
or just going back to the understanding of the Health and Wealth Expo
flow, for me, leaving the traditional Setting was all about
health promotion for me and me choosing me. And by doing
so, it introduced me to what wealth
could look like. So not only did I save my mental health
(18:20):
and I was able to even decrease my blood
pressure because we don't think about our environment
sometime can really lead us to be physically
sick. And at the time I was having blood
pressure issues, my blood pressure was on the borderline. And as
soon as I removed that stressor, my blood pressure
(18:42):
normalized. So again, you have to choose you. And
by me choosing me, it was one of the best decisions I
ever did. Now the wealth piece of it
again. Me starting my wellness business. I
stepped away from the traditional setting and I started a wellness
business. And by doing so, me starting my wellness business
(19:04):
introduced me to what wealth could look like, and not just from my
wellness business. I wrote a book, and from my book,
we had a book launch. From the book launch, we got into a lot of
discussions surrounding health and wealth and bias and health care. And
from that, the Health and wealth Expo was curated. And
now I'm able to help other nurses and other health care
(19:26):
professionals. Also breakthrough burnout and break through
ceilings. Now, you may not want to start a business and that's
okay, but maybe you're stuck and you don't know how to
transition. We help with that too. Our
upcoming virtual summit is going to be all about starting a
business. It's going to be about how to start a IV
(19:47):
hydration business, how to start a legal nurse consulting business, how to start
a mental health nurse practitioner business. And we're going to talk about
government contracting. And then of course, we're going to talk about financial
literacy. You can't have a health and wealth expo without talking about funding
and without talking about how you save and what you need to be doing with
your retirement and life insurance. So we're going to talk about those topics
(20:10):
as well. And as a bonus session, when you upgrade
to all access, you're going to get access to the replays. And as
a bonus session, you'll be able to get access to a session
about funding, about grants, how to fund that business that you want to
start. I'm super excited to be able to pull this together,
but I say all this to say you have to be able to first recognize
(20:32):
where your burnout comes from. And from there, you can
determine where you're going and how you're going to overcome it, because
it can be overcome and sometimes it's just individualized
as to how you overcome it. Of course, yes, you could do
meditation you may need a therapist. You may need to
really find a circle in a community that could really support you
(20:54):
so that you can overcome it. And that's one of the things that we
offer. But know this. Know that there are
resources for you to overcome your burnout. Change is
possible and necessary. Take small steps towards your
breakthrough. If you'd like, make sure you get a copy of my book,
Confessions of a Nurse the Conscious and Unconscious Bias in Health Care.
(21:16):
Here. I'll make sure to put the link in the show notes. You can.
You can get the link from my Instagram. The book is also available
on Amazon. And I started a new community on LinkedIn. It's the
burnout to Breakthrough Nurse Alliance Network. Feel free to
join. It's a free, private community that is still growing.
I'm looking to really see what resources that all
(21:38):
of you want to know about so that we can really make this a thriving
community. Make sure that you guys stay tuned for next week.
I just want to end with saying burnout doesn't mean the end of your career.
It's the beginning of discovering what truly lights you up.
So until next time, make sure that you stay educated,
stay inspired, and stay empowered.
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