Replenished by Living Water

Last summer, I was staring at Mount Rainier’s majestic reflection on the surface of a lake when I suddenly heard a cracking and groaning sound. As I looked around, I realized that the sound came from the mountain’s glaciers several miles away. In that moment it occurred to me that nurses and glaciers have something in common: they are constantly moving!

On the surface, glaciers look like giant, icy patches of snow. Underneath, however, they are constantly receding, changing, and growing. These changes are almost imperceptible from the surface, but they make a big difference over time. Glaciers shape landscapes and, in a way, move mountains—just like nurses.

Glaciers shape landscapes and, in a way, move mountains—just like nurses.

overrideBackgroundColorOrImage: overrideTextColor: overrideTextAlignment:

When glaciers melt, they form waterfalls and rivers that give life to the ecosystems around them. They provide water for people, animals, and plants in the area. Glaciers, like nurses, are life givers and life sustainers, but they need to be constantly replenished. If glaciers do not receive fresh snow in equal proportion to the runoff water entering the surrounding environment, they will shrink, and the surrounding ecosystem will suffer. The same is true for anyone in a caregiving capacity.

Because of the elevation and geography of Mount Rainier, the weather system at the top of the mountain is distinct from the environment at its base. The top of the mountain has colder temperatures and receives more snowfall. As a result, glaciers are able to accumulate more snow, grow, and maintain themselves exclusively on the mountaintop.

How can we grow and maintain ourselves?

1. Stand in Holy Places and Build Your Foundation on Christ

Notice that glaciers form on the tops of mountains. In religious history, mountaintops are symbols of sacred and holy places. Additionally, the mountains that glaciers sit upon are made of solid rock. We read in Helaman 5:12 that Christ is the Rock, “a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

We too need to spend time in holy places and center our lives and practices on Christ. If we want to survive in roles where we are constantly giving of ourselves to help others, we must build our foundation on Him. He will sustain us, rejuvenate us, and prevent us from running our souls dry.

Slowing down and setting boundaries to help prevent burnout is a hard concept for nurses and nurse practitioners to apply. Generally, we are people who have a desire to help others, and we often take it upon ourselves to make sure others are cared for. As nursing professionals, we may feel pressured when our friends, family, and members of our church congregations call upon us for advice and assistance outside of our regular work hours and practice settings.

It can be hard for nurses and nurse practitioners to set healthy boundaries for themselves and to maintain balance because of the pedestals of selflessness the world has placed us on. Striving to live up to the world’s expectations and following in the long-ingrained nursing culture of working oneself to exhaustion has put 60–90% of the current nursing workforce on track for burnout.1

If you allow yourself to get sucked into this dangerous lifestyle, you may end up working until you hate your job, your coworkers, and your life. Your families and relationships may begin to suffer and feel strained. And worst of all, you might even wear this self-inflicted martyrdom as a badge of honor. If you find yourself on the path toward burnout, you can follow Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s two-word sermon: “Stop it!” 2 This culture is toxic. We need to clearly understand what nurse burnout is and identify it in the early stages so we can take corrective action! The American Nurses Association describes burnout as “unmanaged, chronic workplace stress. It can occur in any job or sector and results in. . . mental and physical exhaustion, mental distance on the job, cynicism about the job, and reduced efficacy in the workplace.”3

2. Intentionally Connect with Your Creator

We need to find ways to take care of our own souls and rejuvenate ourselves if we want to continue to have the ability to take care of others. Some of my favorite scripture verses speak about the Savior slipping away into a desert place to be alone. In Matthew 14, the Savior was approached by a multitude while He was mourning the death of John the Baptist, His cousin, who was been executed by Herod the Tetrarch. Jesus “was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14). He spent an entire day healing, teaching, and feeding them. The scriptures continue, “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and . . . he was there alone” (Matthew 14:23).

Like the Savior, I go to commune with God in nature; it is a sacred place where I can breathe and find balance. Regardless of where we go, each of us needs to find places to rejuvenate our souls and connect with God.

If the Savior can take time for Himself to breathe, grieve, be alone, find balance, and connect with His Father, all while on a mission to save mankind (which He successfully did), then we can too.

3. Remember Your Divine Identity

In this profession it is essential to know that you are first and foremost a child of God. The moment that your identity as a nurse supersedes your identity as a son or daughter of God, you forfeit your greatest source of strength, and you are on the road to burnout.

We all need Jesus Christ.

You do not want to do this job alone. You will see things you cannot unsee. You will witness things that, even when you explain it to them in gory detail, your friends and family cannot fathom because it is so far from their reality. The heaviness that you feel over the things you witness and experience can be overwhelming at times. You can work through the heaviness with your coworkers and mentors when they are available, but even when they are not, you are not alone!

It is critical that we learn to remove the weight of our jobs and lay it at the feet of our Savior. He asks us to give our burdens to Him so that He can make them light.4 He asks us to turn to Him in our thoughts, words, and deeds. He asks us to talk with Him daily and humbly plead for His help. If we do not share our burdens with Him, we will be standing in the way of our path to healing and hope. Jesus Christ already suffered so that we don’t have to. His sacrifice is enough to cover all of us!

4. Repentance: Realign with Your Source of Power

I know about burnout and losing sight of your divine identity because I’ve been there. There was a point in my nursing career when my priorities became scrambled, and I felt depleted. My whole identity revolved around being a nurse, and I lost any sense of balance in my life. I felt that everyone constantly wanted something from me, yet no one was filling my cup in return. My managers often pressured me to pick up more shifts. I ran myself dry and my soul was empty. I got to a point where I didn’t enjoy my job anymore. I was angry, impatient, and I started to get regular migraines.

I stepped away from this toxic culture to work at a new facility. And, more importantly, I stepped back toward Christ. I traded shifts with a co-worker so that I could go to church on Sundays. I also made it a point to pray on the way to work each morning, asking to see people as God sees them rather than as “problems to be solved.”5 In doing this, I rediscovered the only source of Living Water that could fill my cup. I had to learn this lesson the hard way, as will many of you. Please know that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, you can always turn back to Him and reclaim your most important identity: that of a son or daughter of God.

When you know who you are, everything else in life falls into place. Your worth and purpose become clearer. When you lack clarity, remember that you have heavenly parents who created you in their image and who are capable of all things. So, if it is their will, you can accomplish seemingly impossible things. President Russell M. Nelson reminded us, “You can accomplish the impossible. You can help shape the destiny of the entire human family! As you know and apply the teachings of the Lord in your lives and in your work, you can change the world.”6

5. Magnify the Gifts He Has Already Given You

You have been given divine gifts to bless those around you. Practicing the Healer’s art will help you discover and magnify these gifts. God has placed you here with your specific talents, skills, experiences, and personality for a reason. As you develop these talents, He will use you to bless others.

Nursing is a five-talents kind of gig.7 It’s about investing what God has already given us into a good cause so that He may continue to multiply our efforts and endow us with greater power and strength moving forward.

I know from experience that as we strive to learn and practice the Healer’s art, Christ will magnify our efforts and make up the difference when we fall short. On many occasions, I have felt God use my sense of humor to brighten a grumpy patient’s day. He has used my gift of empathy to meet people where they are so that they are not alone when receiving difficult medical news. My ability to make complex information more relatable helps patients better understand their medical conditions. Many times, God has brought information to my memory at just the right time to meet a critical patient’s needs. I know He will also utilize your gifts and magnify your talents as you prayerfully seek to do His will.

Replenished by Living Water

When we understand our divine identity, center our lives on the Master Healer, and lay our burdens at the Savior’s feet, we will find lasting joy and peace in our lives. As we treasure and magnify the sacred opportunity it is to be God’s hands on earth, others will be able to know, see, and feel the love of the Savior through us.

Miracles will also take place within us. Our eyes will learn to see God’s children as He does. Our hearts will soften, and we will become more sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit. We will gain wisdom and empathy, and compassion will become our default. We will maintain light in times of darkness. We will foster hope in times of despair, and we will find peace in a troubled world.

It is only through building our lives and our practices on the teachings of the Savior Jesus Christ, the only true source of Living Water, that we can become resilient enough to prevent burnout in this demanding but ever-rewarding profession.

Shalyn Larsen (FNP ’22), an alumna of the BYU College of Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner Program, delivered the endnote speech at the college’s Research and Evidence-Based Practice and Professionalism Conference on October 23, 2023. This article includes excerpts from her speech, adapted for publication.