Crossroads?

After a distressing shift in resus yesterday (Australia Day no less, when everyone else was seemingly drinking their weight in alcohol while listening to the Hottest 100), I think I have finally reached the point of burnout in emergency.

Critical care areas are, not surprisingly, the most stressful and pressurised areas to work in nursing. Emergency nurses don't tend to last beyond 12 months. This is my 6th year working in my Brisbane hospital's emergency department. I thought I was doing well. Normally I'm pretty unflappable; I might have a vent with co-workers about something that's happened, but I can leave it behind when it's time to go home.

Yesterday was seriously fucking awful. I can't say anything about the situation as it will be a media case at some point. My empathy is gone. How can I look afer people if I don't care, or don't like them for something they've done? Maybe I need to go and work in some quiet office, away from patients, doing staffing or bed allocations or some non-clinical stuff. What I do know is that my leave needs to start pronto. Only 35 days to go...