Recently, I visited my postop wife at the hospital, looking like every other family member. When I told a nurse, Linda, that I was a nurse as well, she said to me, “I’m sorry.” What I believe she meant was that she was sorry I was trapped in a lackluster, sad profession, like she was, and Linda was commiserating. This wasn't the first time I heard this reply from a nurse.

As a nurse who is enthused about nursing, I angrily said, “Why would you say that to me?” She told me she had been a nurse for 30 years, doing the same job in the same old way, and she was just tired and probably burnt out. Later that night, I posted this interaction on Facebook. People remotely familiar with me know that I am trying to boost my present number of friends on my personal Facebook page from 1,382 to 5,000 (you're welcome to friend me at Robert G Hess Jr), so I can have a large, interactive audience. In my post, I also suggested that nurses like Linda needed to get counseling, change jobs, go back to school, get resocialized, find a way to participate in positive change, retire or just get out of my profession.

The Linda story sparked 121 reactions, 56 comments and two shares. Interestingly, it also provided an unsought framework and lead for insights about evidence-based practice in an evidence-based career.

Tranforming your practice

First of all, with a cascade of research spilling from the work of nurse scientists and researchers, no nurse could possibly be doing the same job in the same old way if he or she incorporated new evidence into the practice. The role of evidence in practice is succinctly documented in Nurse.com’s module, .

Researchers have delved into every nursing specialty, changing the way things are done. Evidence has rightfully raised questions about almost every traditional practice. This is a heady time for the science of nursing, so a nurse who says that he or she is doing a job in the same way isn’t paying attention.

And research-related changes have rejuvenated a lot of us. Constant new evidence disrupts, explores and transforms old practices. It should keep us questioning our practice every day in an intoxicating way. Linda, you’re missing the good stuff. " ...no nurse could possibly be doing the same job in the same old way if he or she incorporated new evidence into the practice."

Knowing when to move on

Second, evidence not only disrupts practice, but it also informs professional nurses’ careers. Organizational research provides indicators for when nurses should consider leaving their current jobs, switching roles within their career or searching for change to invigorate their current situation, such as going back to school, networking or joining a professional organization.

Nurses who say they are burnt out are not just turning a phrase. Burnout is real and has been precisely measured for decades. Instruments such as the rate healthcare professionals’ responses to statements like “I feel emotionally drained from my work,” “I have accomplished many worthwhile things in this job,” and “I don't really care what happens to some patients.”

Other surveys provide signals of job fatigue with concepts such as intent to leave for when it’s time to change jobs long before we consciously think we’re ready to make a switch.

Measuring satisfaction

Third, survey literature also provides evidence of when things are going well in a career by measuring job satisfaction. Several instruments that look at nurses’ perceptions about their job are available. The includes survey items about how much you enjoy your job, doing your job and the people you work with, lending sufficient psychometrically tested reliability and validity to your responses to properly evaluate your work situation. Here are a few simple steps to make sure that evidence guides both your practice and your career:

New evidence surges on to clinical areas every day through our professional organizations, literature and educators. Take time to examine and apply it to not only your practice, but also your career as well. It will not only fuel your enthusiasm for your profession and your job, but others around you, like Linda. If it doesn’t help her in her present employment, it may at least open better opportunities.