Burn out

How do SLP's burn out??

We talked about what you want in a career.  We talked about the options of work settings.  We talked about non-traditional and traditional settings.  There is no reason then for an SLP to burn out of the career.  But we do.  Why?   Are you someone who may be prone to burn-out?  If so, talk about what you can do to prevent or manage it if happens.  

Burn out can occur in any occupation. Sometimes people just feel as though life has something better to offer them so they decide to move on. I feel that there are many ways in which burn out occurs. Sometimes a persons personality may contribute to the burnout. I know many people who have switched occupations several times throughout their life for a taste of something new. 

I feel that burn out in the speech pathology world can occur for many reasons. One of the reasons that I feel burn outs occur is because the person has a hard time separating work from home. Many times SLP work a full day then bring their work home with them which causes them to work all day. Unfavorable work conditions may also contribute to burn out in the work place. Disrespect, doing others jobs, and unorganization in the work facility can contribute to burn out. 

I can closely relate to "burn outs" in the school setting. Three years ago I began my journey as a speech-language teacher. I am the only speech teacher/pathologist in my school which makes things really difficult. I am responsible for the entire caseload which averages at 70 and above for the year. Group therapy is very difficult when you have more than two children in each group. Keeping up with the paper work has also made it difficult to enjoy my job. I have no time to plan exciting activities for the children nor did I have time to give each child exactly what they needed. For the last three days I felt as if everyday was a race just to make it through the day. At the end of year 3 I can officially say I am burned out on school speech therapy. 

I will be starting a new job in home health in August. In order to prevent burn out I will be able to "be my own boss" I will only be required to see 6 patients per day. I feel that this will help to minimize burn out since I will have a variety of patients to work with each day. Working with children is an exhausting job and I feel that working with adults will help to take a turn in a different direction. I feel that helping to make decisions about your position and what your job responsibilities will be each day can help to minimize burn out. I also feel that the SLP should learn a separation between work and home. I have let myself bring paperwork home constantly until I was blue in the face. Letting your boss know that you need time to do paperwork and receiving that time can also help to minimize burn out.