Critical Care Nurse Mock Interview
Master 30 Critical Care Nurse interview questions covering clinical scenarios, emergency protocols, and critical thinking under pressure.
Question 26 of 30
Why do you think critical care nurses often report experiencing 'burn out,' and what do you do to prevent that?
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Darby Faubion has been a Nurse and Allied Health Educator for over 20 years. She has clinical experience in several specialty areas, including pediatrics, medical-surgical, critical care, and hospice.
Being a healthcare provider is a great responsibility. Unfortunately, because of the great responsibility, many providers do report experiencing the need to take a break. The interviewer wants to know that you are capable of handling stress and that you know when to ask for help.
Darby Faubion has been a Nurse and Allied Health Educator for over 20 years. She has clinical experience in several specialty areas, including pediatrics, medical-surgical, critical care, and hospice.
"I understand how some healthcare providers can experience burn out. It has nothing to do with wanting to change professions or leave a job. Sometimes it's just hard to lose patients or to feel like we can't save them all. I try to schedule myself some personal time, whether its a few days away when I am off work or going hiking. Anything to help create some balance in my life."
Darby Faubion has been a Nurse and Allied Health Educator for over 20 years. She has clinical experience in several specialty areas, including pediatrics, medical-surgical, critical care, and hospice.
"I had a great mentor when I was in nursing school. She told me if I didn't remember anything else she told me, that I should always remember to take care of myself. I have grown to understand what she meant. If we are bogged down physically and emotionally, it is easy to become overwhelmed and experience feeling burned out."
Darby Faubion has been a Nurse and Allied Health Educator for over 20 years. She has clinical experience in several specialty areas, including pediatrics, medical-surgical, critical care, and hospice.
"Unfortunately, I can speak from experience about burn out. When I was a new nurse, I thought I could work all the time and that I was invincible. I lost several patients within a short period of time and the toll of the loss was very overwhelming to me. Since then, I have learned how to work hard, but to also work hard at caring for myself as well."
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Anonymous Answer
It is in our nature as nurses to fix things and when we are unable to save a patient it can weigh heavy on our hearts. Critical care is an area of nursing where patients are very sick and sometimes despite our best efforts they cannot be saved. I know that I am an empath and I sometimes bring home things from work with me that were difficult, but I have coping mechanisms in place such as practicing yoga, getting out in nature, talking with loved ones, as well as journaling. All feelings are valid and should be felt but having coping mechanisms in place helps prevent burnout.
Cindy's Feedback
Good! So the burnout that is often reported stems from losing patients? Are there other reasons for burnout, such as long hours or stressful circumstances?
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