Exercise as Self-care to Combat Nurse Burnout

The demands on nurses continue to grow, inducing stress and other symptoms of burnout. Nurse burnout can cause short and long term physiological and psychological symptoms. Nurse burnout not only affects nurses but has implications for patients and hospitals as well. Exercise has been proven to have many health benefits and the ability to alleviate symptoms of burnout. Nurses on a hematology/oncology unit cited burnout as their reason for leaving the unit. This project proposes a walking program as a self-care method to reduce symptoms of nurse burnout. Utilizing Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring and her idea of self-care and energy transmission, a metaphoric battery was used to visualize this project. Pre and post surveys capture perceived stress levels with a goal of reducing perceived stress. Critical reflection identified needed changes before implementation of the walking program as well as implications for practice