Collette Health is a remote observation tool that takes some pressure off of onsite nursing teams and supports nurses’ mental health amidst the nursing shortage.The nursing shortage has stretched nursing departments to their limit. And the balancing act they perform of administrative responsibilities, patient care, compassion, communication, and so much more, has been leaving nurses with burnout—being physically and mentally exhausted. Burnout is one of the number one causes of the nursing shortage, because it is affecting nurses’ mental health. It becomes a cycle. Burnout affects nurses’ mental health, which contributes to the nursing shortage. This, in turn, leads to more nurses feeling burnt out. So what can stop this cycle?
Nurses need compensation, to be heard, and support in all aspects of the job. And one way to do just that is through Collette Health remote patient observation. Having a system that lets a patient sitter observe ten patients at once saves nurses time and effort, thus helping to give them the support they need and deserve.
How Does Burnout Affect Nurses?
Burnout often leaves nurses both physically exhausted, but it also greatly affects their mental health in ways such as leading to anxiety or even depression. “A depressed nurse may find it more difficult to concentrate, communicate, manage time, and critically think–all of these factors are detriments to mental health. They can cause a delay in patient care, medication errors, lapses in nursing judgment, etc.”6 Mental health burnout is one of the root causes of nurses leaving not only their jobs, but the healthcare industry all together. “In March 2022, the American Nurses Foundation and the American Nurses Association released the results of its COVID-19 Impact Assessment Survey, which found that 52% of nurses are considering leaving their current position due primarily to insufficient staffing, work negatively affecting health and well-being, and inability to deliver quality care. In addition, 60% of acute care nurses report feeling burnt out, and 75% report feeling stressed, frustrated, and exhausted.7 And while we may want to blame the pandemic for this burnout, this exodus in the nursing department is not new. “[With] ninety percent of respondents […] considering leaving the nursing profession in the next year […] seventy-two percent of respondents said they were experiencing nurse burnout long before the pandemic.”8
Nurses are leaving the nursing department because of burnout—feeling physically and mentally exhausted due to staff shortages, long hours, and high stress. So the question becomes: what can be done to help alleviate this burnout? What can help with understaffed hospitals, and therefore give nurses the helping hand they need? One solution is remote patient observation systems like Collette Health.
How Collette Health Can Help
Patient falls, despite being deemed a “never event” by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, still occur every day in hospitals across the nation. And these “never events” occur more often when a hospital is understaffed and can’t be as attentive to a patient.
At Collette Health, patient observation software means two things: keeping patients safe and providing a solution for nursing departments struggling with staff shortages. Patient observation software is a technology-enabled solution that connects at-risk patients to remote observers over video. Armed with a mobile cart, cameras, and two-way video connections, one observer can watch multiple patients at once, thus supporting nurses by saving them time and effort.
How Collette Health Serves as a Nursing Extension
While patient safety is our priority, there are many reasons to use Collette Health, including:
- Serving as a nursing extension by being nurses’ eyes and ears when they are not in the room
- Acting as a virtual witness for nurses that are performing diagnostic exams independently
- Giving nurses peace of mind, to know that, as a clinician, you have that extra set of eyes to back up what you’re doing
To learn more about nurse burnout, and find out how Collette Health can help, read our newest white paper here.
If you are interested in installing Collette Health, please visit our Contact Us page now.