Tackling burnout

When I read the Nursing2019 editorial "Clinician Burnout and Resilience," (November 2019), I was happy to see mention of the elephant in the room. Technology has facilitated so much of our distress. It works fast, so we are expected to work faster. Therefore, nurses do so much more in a day than ever before.

I am proud to share with you that at my facility, we are working with the director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research to conduct research on how well we can improve the nurse experience and patient outcomes when we provide care for our nurses. We have a grant to work on this. Because it is of the upmost importance, our hospital is investing additional funds into the project.

-WENDY A. WINTERSGILL, MSN, RN, ONC, CRRN, ACNS-BC, FARN

LANCASTER, PA

Mentors a must for new nurses

A telemetry unit nurse I managed once asked if she could scan my badge for the glucometer after getting locked out. My initial reaction was to laugh, but I immediately realized that if this nurse didn't know she should not ask to scan someone else's badge, I was failing as a manager. This experience reminded me that new graduates need to know that a good mentor or preceptor can shape their own experiences and futures, and that they should become mentors themselves later in their careers.

-MARIA MONIQUE MARALIT, MSN, RN, NE-BC

ELMHURST, N.Y.

Nurses are the 24-hour experts

I enjoyed the editorial "Raising the Bar on Respect for Nursing as a Career" (October 2019). As a nursing instructor, I too have often had to explain why I chose to become a nurse instead of a physician. I cite an observation attributed to Gloria Steinem: "The nurse is the 24-hour expert on the patient and the doctor is the consultant who comes and goes." I teach my students to become the 24-hour experts on their patients by being curious, doing assessments, and continuing to learn.

-SUSAN GASSAWAY, BSN, MS, RN

CHICHASHA, OK