11/06/2026
The Shift Where I Realised Nurses Needed Support Too
Coming from a family of nurses, I never imagined that one day I would be advocating for nurses themselves.
When I was a student nurse, we were often treated badly by qualified nurses. It was common to hear the phrase, “Nurses eat their young.” Looking back, I don’t think most of them were bad people. I think many were simply exhausted, unsupported, and carrying burdens no one could see.
Nursing has changed over the years. Not all of those changes have been for the better.
When I qualified, many people were drawn to nursing because they genuinely cared. They were empathetic. Compassionate. People who wanted to make a difference in someone’s worst moments.
The problem is that caring people often give without limits.
Employers and organisations know nurses will step up.
Can you stay back?
Can you work an extra shift?
Can you cover a colleague?
Can you do a late shift and come back for nights?
Most nurses don’t say yes because they want recognition.
They say yes because they don’t want patients to suffer.
Because they don’t want to let their team down.
Because they care.
And that is where the cracks begin.
Not all at once.
Slowly.
Almost invisibly.
The missed lunch breaks.
The overtime that becomes normal.
The exhaustion that becomes expected.
The inability to switch off.
The replaying of every shift on the drive home.
Did I sign that medication?
Did I document everything?
Did I remember to follow up that result?
Did Mrs Jones get her pain relief?
Did Ethel get her cup of tea?
Nurses carry their patients long after they leave the ward.
Then one day, they realise they are running on empty.
The compassion is still there.
The commitment is still there.
But the energy isn’t.
The cup is empty.
And because nurses are so used to caring for everyone else, they often hide it.
They push through.
They tell themselves everyone is tired.
Everyone is stressed.
Everyone is struggling.
Until burnout no longer whispers.
It screams.
The biggest lesson I learned in over 30 years of nursing is this:
Nurses don’t suddenly burn out.
Burnout is what happens when small acts of self-sacrifice become a way of life.
The shift where I realised nurses needed support too wasn’t a single shift.
It was thousands of shifts.
Thousands of moments where nurses quietly put themselves last.
That is why The Regulated Nurse exists.
Because the people who spend their lives caring for others deserve care too.
Join me this Monday 15 th June, with others who just understand and experience the same from healthcare. Booking link below 👇
A restorative evening for nurses and healthcare professionals to pause, reset, and reconnect through meditation, mindfulness, and sound.
