Suddenly it just stopped.
Nurse Vendela broke down from stress at work.
– You absolutely cannot have a bad day, then it could mean that a patient dies, she says.
Four out of ten midwives and nurses under the age of 30 say that it is unlikely that they will remain in care their entire professional life. This is shown in a new report from Vårdförbundet. In order to cope with the job, some choose to go down to part-time.
A year and a half after nursing education, it stopped for Vendela Knuutinen. The dream job led to sick leave. More patients per nurse and constant overcrowding made the stress overwhelming.
– I came to work one day and started getting overreporting from my colleague who had worked during the day and I was supposed to work in the evening. I just broke down. I heard the weight of these patients, how much they would demand of me. I felt deep inside that it won’t work, she says.
The fear: Patients die
Six months later, Vendela Knuutinen returned to the heart clinic at Danderyd hospital outside Stockholm, but then at 80 percent, to cope.
– You were so incredibly afraid of missing something. You absolutely cannot have a bad day, then it could mean that a patient dies or suffers an injury. I couldn’t live with myself if that happened. That pressure is enormous. That was what I felt the most, the responsibility, she says.
– I think I have seen every single one of my nursing colleagues cry at work from stress.
She believes that it is a solution that currently works for her, but not in the long run.
– Economically, it will be very difficult and tough, especially in the time like it is right now. It is not sustainable, she says.