application paper

Caring for Self
Student Name
Institution Affiliation

Table of Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u 1.0Introduction PAGEREF _Toc467128106 h 32.0Clinical Situation PAGEREF _Toc467128107 h 33.0Relevance of Situation to Me Personally and Professionally PAGEREF _Toc467128108 h 44.0Literature Review PAGEREF _Toc467128109 h 54.1Burnout PAGEREF _Toc467128110 h 54.2Emotional Exhaustion PAGEREF _Toc467128111 h 64.3Depersonalization PAGEREF _Toc467128112 h 75.0Identification, Discussion, & Analysis of the Issues PAGEREF _Toc467128113 h 75.1Burnout PAGEREF _Toc467128114 h 75.2Emotional Exhaustion PAGEREF _Toc467128115 h 85.3Depersonalization PAGEREF _Toc467128116 h 106.0Analysis of how Future Practice may be Influenced PAGEREF _Toc467128117 h 117.0Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc467128118 h 128.0References PAGEREF _Toc467128119 h 13

IntroductionSelf-care is an important aspect of personal growth. However, this is especially important for those working in the healthcare industry. The reason behind this is that if the practitioner is not well organized and their individuality is not wholesome, then the services they offer would be substandard and thus would put the patients in jeopardy. Other than the patient’s health, the health of the practitioner in question is also important. Addressing the key elements of a human’s existence, which are their mind, body, and spirit, is essential if one is going to determine whether they are effective in exacting related clinical services (Turkel, 2015). The purpose of this paper is to delve into the issue of self-care by delimitating burnout, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization.

These issues have been closely associated with the lack of self-care on the part of a practitioner, and thus results in the need to address the problem if better services are to be offered to the patients.
Clinical SituationThe clinical situation started off as a lack of motivation to attend rotations with the same vigor that I had in the past. The core issue with this situation is that I would almost always be very snappy to my colleagues as well as very callous to the patients I attended to. At the beginning, the problem was not very obvious to me. However, this problem became obvious when I was reported to my seniors by a family for being rude to them and not apologizing for it.
The situation was seemingly like a film unfolding before me. I found myself being emotionally exhausted in the face of a grieving family. Instead of comforting them and explaining to them about the unexpected results that they were faced with, I was blunt about the results and unapologetically so. This surprised all those who were in the room with us. The detachment that was accompanied with the way in which I presented this information was what resulted in the family reporting me to my seniors and recommending that I should not be allowed to work with any other family.
A close examination of this incident shows that it all began with my experiencing a series of burnout incidences. The exhibition of burnout is exhibited and caused by continually working for long hours on end. That much work made it impossible to keep up with the basic hours that were expected of me. The instances that I was at work were also not the best of my productive years on the job. Therefore, as it can be seen, addressing this problem is essential if I am going to get over the problem in question and bounce back to my old self.
Relevance of Situation to Me Personally and ProfessionallyThe relevance of this situation to me lies in my day to day life, as well as my professional conduct. My personal life is also taking a hit as a result of any failure that I am going through at work. For instance, my self-esteem has continually dropped over the time that I have been exhibit this issue. With this drop, I have also stopped taking good care of my health with regards to healthy eating and exercise. If this problem continues, the issues I have pointed out are going to mesh up and affect my job. The exhibition of this issue at work was just the beginning of the different ways in which the issue on self-care could negatively impact my job prospects and thus my capacity to offer the best services to those who need it. If this were to continue, I would have to take a break in order to bounce back from the negative effects of it.
Literature ReviewBurnoutBurnout is not a condition that is readily described in the DSM series. However, it has been characterized in the ICD-10. On its own, Burnout has been categorized as being a psychological stress, and thus the reason as to why it has not been categorized as being a psychological disorder in the DSM series (Hozak, Nelson, & Gregory, 2016). The individual found to have burnout will more often than not lack enthusiasm and motivation. Their execution of duties will almost always be sluggish or ineffective. It has also been found that such individuals will express frustration in the execution of their duties.
Clinicians, as well as other human service professions, have been found to have the highest incidences of burnout. It has been found that an increase in demand for emotional needs on the part of the clients increases the chances that the employee addressing them will experience burnout. Having to exercise one’s emotional strength with the aim of offsetting the weakness of other people in the work environment has been attributed as the core reason behind burnout for nurses. To address this problem, the antithesis which is engagement has to be encouraged among such employees.
The core causes of burnout are not singular in nature, but rather multifunctional. This means that an individual suffering from burnout will most likely have gone through a myriad of issues that are responsible for their current situation. One of the most common reasons for burnout is a misconception of the realities of a job. The individual in question will have unrealistic expectations which result in the eradication of the drive that one begins with when starting out on that job. The end result is more often than not a gradual development of burnout.
Emotional ExhaustionThis refers to emotional depletion that also accompanies a loss in a physical drive to conduct oneself as is on a regular basis. The individual experiencing this condition will have an emotional over extension, which is characterized by low enthusiasm to finish their job. Investing on one’s resources and finding ways to prevent the loss of such resources has been found to be very effective in handling issues that are associated with emotional exhaustion (Hülsheger, Alberts, Feinholdt, & Lang, 2013). Such measures have been found to provide one with the opportunity to step back in case they are not capable of handling a highly stressful situation.
There are different strategies that have been employed by different individuals in the process of identifying a solution for persons that are suffering from this condition. The control strategies employed include pointing out the issues that one is facing or asking for help when one is faced with the issue in question. However, a control strategy that involves the use of escape, such as avoiding the problem, will almost always result in increased emotional exhaustion. The solution to this problem is to tackle the problem head on in a productive manner.
One of the factors that have been found to influence the way in which an emotional situation has been handled by an individual includes the culture of the company or workplace in question. The culture of different workplaces has therefore been associated with an increase in the number of individuals with an orientation towards a specific control method (Hülsheger, Alberts, Feinholdt, & Lang, 2013). For instance, USA, in general, is more oriented towards addressing emotional issues, and thus offering its citizens the opportunity to address any emotional deficiencies at work.
DepersonalizationDepersonalization is categorized as a dissociative disorder when it exhibits itself in a chronic manner. The relationship between this disorder and the nursing profession is found in the fact that depersonalization is one of the evasive solutions that most nurses and clinicians will attempt to employ in order to handle different stressors on the job. It has been found too that an exposure to severe stress and continued trauma can be a reason as to why continued dissociation continues to run rampant among employees in the service industry.
An individual experiencing depersonalization almost always divorces themselves from their emotional experiences as well as behaviors. This may be experienced as one having a hazy experience of life (Lemche et al., 2016). The individual in question will also not respond to the emotional experiences of those around them. The most common relationship between these individuals and their experiences is that of them being harsh to those they are expected to support.
Identification, Discussion, & Analysis of the IssuesBurnoutBurnout has been identified as the core reason behind the consistent growth in the number of individuals who are found to be less cooperative at their jobs in the service industry. One of the reasons as to why burnout is not being tackled as effectively as other such conditions is its recurrent nature (Hozak, Nelson, & Gregory, 2016). It is important to identify some of the causes of burnout in order for them to determine how they can end such a problem for good. My situation has shown that a lack of time management was a contributing factor. This made it difficult to pull through the different incidents that were characterized by emotional outbursts or continued holding back of one’s emotions. I found it difficult to address the patients, which was hard for the families that interacted with me.
A need for constant exercise of emotional skills and the requirement to address the emotional needs of people other than self-has also been found to contribute towards an increase in burnout among nurses and clinicians. The major problem that is related to this situation is a need to balance between one’s emotional needs and those of the patient or client. Encouraging engagement on the part of the individuals exercising emotional control on the job has been found to enhance the capacity of such individuals to offset the tendency for burnout to occur (Hozak, Nelson, & Gregory, 2016). It has also been found that more of this action would reduce emotional exhaustion.
As it has been identified, the causes of burnout can be multifunctional. This means that systemic issues may be associated with the reason as to why the service industry is commonly associated with the condition (Cherniss, 2016). One of the common realizations among people in the healthcare industry is that bureaucracy results in frustration among employees and thus burnout among those who are expected to serve the clients. The back and forth between departments that are expected to handle issues would almost always drain those who would have otherwise provided the best services possible. A reduction in such issues should also ensure that instances of burnout are identified as soon as possible.
Emotional ExhaustionEmotional exhaustion, as in the case of the clinical situation mentioned herein, has shown that lack of emotional management and the proper development of healthy emotional release could have been caused by a combination of events. Just like burnout, emotional exhaustion has also been found to creep in on the individual suffering from the condition. One of the ways that this could happen includes the repetitive nature in which the condition repeats in the life of the individual in question (Hülsheger, Alberts, Feinholdt, & Lang, 2013). For instance, having personal issues at home could result in the over analysis of problems occurring at work, thus reinforcing exhaustion. The need for time off is essential in providing the person suffering from the condition with an opportunity to address the problem first hand before things get worse.
Emotional exhaustion also causes friction between employees. It has been found that certain influential employees suffering from this condition can effectively cause other employees to go through the same process if not handled properly. One of the issues that have been realized to determine the rate at which the condition traverses between the different employees in the company includes the culture of the company. A working environment that allows for the realization of emotional issues is crucial if one is to determine the way in which the issues identified can be handled (Hülsheger, Alberts, Feinholdt, & Lang, 2013). However, bureaucracy has been listed as one of the reasons as to why this problem lags on in the service industry. Petty politics between employees also contributes to this condition, thus resulting in a need for the proper management of such situations.
Actively addressing the issue that leads up to emotional exhaustion is the only way to handle this problem. Therefore, providing the company with a means of pointing out issues as well as addressing them is important. Some work environments have been found to encourage evasive tactics that do not allow for the emotional imbalances among employees to be fully addressed (Hülsheger, Alberts, Feinholdt, & Lang, 2013). It is as a result of this situation that there is continued lack of addressing such issues that they eventually spiral down into emotional outbursts and uncouth behavior.
DepersonalizationDepersonalization can be referred to as one of the results that emerge after employees suffering from burnout or emotional exhaustion employ evasive tactics for a long period of time. The service industry does not function well whenever the individuals offering the services needed are depersonalized. The reason behind this is that the services being offered by those in question are dependent on their capacity to understand the emotional experiences of those they are serving (Lemche et al., 2016). Once depersonalization sets it, being empathetic to those around the employees becomes difficult. This is the reason public hospitals and medical facilities may be found to have a higher occurrence rate of such situations.
Addressing this issue would require immediate diagnosis by a professional psychologist. It is difficult to provide the appropriate solution to an individual suffering from this condition without realizing the best way to curb its cyclic tendencies and thus allow for the organization to move forward. The losses incurred by the company include a loss of the employees who are most experienced. This is because the longer one works at a given job that results in the stresses that have been previously mentioned, the higher the chances that the individual in question trends towards depersonalization (Lemche et al., 2016). This can go on to affect their lives negatively. As a result of realizing the danger in this issue, most healthcare institutions have provided the employees with shrinks who are aimed at helping the employees handle their emotional issues.
The treatment of an individual suffering from depersonalization has been found to be dependent on whether the cause is psychological or organic. In the case of individuals working in the healthcare industry, it has been determined that psychological issues are responsible for many of the cases of depersonalization (Lemche et al., 2016). Taking the individual off work is the first step, which is followed by counseling coupled up by appropriate medication. It has also been found that proper inclusion in different activities will encourage such individuals to become better at the resolution of the initial issues that brought about the condition. In my case, taking a break from work and then participating in the regular work-related activities should allow for recovery from the condition.
Analysis of how Future Practice may be InfluencedFuture practice will be influenced by the realization of preemptive measures being put in place to prevent the development of these issues. One of the ways that are quite obvious is proper division of labor. The reason behind this suggestion is that it allows those implementing supervisory roles to identify the individuals who are required to work more than others. Division of labor is an important element of time management. Without this aspect of time management, it becomes difficult to identify the individuals who could be susceptible to the conditions mentioned herein (Hozak, Nelson, & Gregory, 2016). It has been determined that a lack of methods to address burnout and emotional exhaustion almost always result in the development of depersonalization. Therefore, a lack of addressing this issue would result in the continued exhibition of the issue in question among more employees and thus continued delivery of substandard services.
Future practice should require employees to manage their time. I would also be prudent for the employees to communicate with management if they have any issues that could result in the collapse of their emotional and cognitive capacities. This can be addressed by identifying the different ways in which the other employees noticing this problem can address it without there being loss in the number of good employees to the aforementioned conditions (Hozak, Nelson, & Gregory, 2016). It has also been determined that it is necessary to ensure that training future employees should provide them with the proper knowledge to tackle this issue before it grows into an unmanageable problem. One of the ways in which this can be achieved is by providing those in this industry with the means to help one another by providing channels for releasing their stress such as team building exercises.
ConclusionThe clinical issue that demanded the development of this report is continued burnout that resulted in emotional exhaustion, which could have caused depersonalization. As is with most clinical issues, it has been found that one problem will almost always build up and cause another problem. The development of these issues continues at such a fast rate that the arresting of this problem can be difficult if this is not done at the very beginning of the causative problems. The application of solutions that are expected to identify the different solutions that can determine the way forward with regards to the smooth lining of services offered should benefit all those who are involved in this industry. The solutions suggested herein should ensure that the practitioners are capable of being productive for a longer period of time in their lifetimes. It should also ensure that the services offered are the best and that there is no clashing between the employees, management, and clients.

ReferencesCherniss, C. (2016). Beyond Burnout: Helping teachers, nurses, therapists, and lawyers recover from stress and disillusionment. Routledge.
Hozak, M. A., Nelson, J., & Gregory, D. (2016). Relationship of Hospital Architecture to Nursing Staff Caring for Self, Caring for Patients, and Job Satisfaction. Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies, 3(1), 5.
Hülsheger, U. R., Alberts, H. J., Feinholdt, A., & Lang, J. W. (2013). Benefits of mindfulness at work: the role of mindfulness in emotion regulation, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(2), 310.
Lemche, E., Surguladze, S. A., Brammer, M. J., Phillips, M. L., Sierra, M., David, A. S., … & Giampietro, V. P. (2016). Dissociable brain correlates for depression, anxiety, dissociation, and somatization in depersonalization-derealization disorder. CNS Spectrums, 21(01), 35-42.
Turkel, M. C. (2015). Caring for self. Scandinavian journal of caring sciences, 29(4), 613-614.