The Suicide of Nurse Underscores Pressures of Nursing Profession

News that a 35-year-old nurse working in the United Kingdom (U.K.) died by her own hand after working twelve-hour shifts following a promotion shocked and dismayed her coworkers. Sadly, the state of muring in the U.S. is very similar. Nurses work extraordinarily hard and are taking on more and more stress as medical resources are stretched thin.  Long, grueling shifts leave little time for socialization, stress management, and self-care. As time wears on mistakes are made due to the stress. Additionally, stressed-out medical personnel, especially nurses can turn to excessive alcohol consumption or abusing drugs as a means to relieve the insurmountable strain taking long shifts without the opportunity to take time off can have an on individual.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger has represented numerous medical professionals, including registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, nurse assistants, and nurse practitioners who encountered the destructive effects stress causes to a person’s life. Mismanaged or unmanaged stress leads to errors of judgment and could lead to a failure to live up to the character expected of a nurse. Attorney Sanger works with nurses of all types who are facing professional discipline brought about by the damaging effects of stress. Attorney Sanger works closely with her clients to get them back on their career path and resolve professional disciplinary issues favorably for her client.

The 35-year-old nurse from the U.K. received a promotion to senior staff nurse a mere six months before she hanged herself in her family home. The nurse worked in a hospital located in Manchester, England according to the New York Post. The nurse who died reportedly left a two-page handwritten suicide note wherein she describes in vivid detail her collapse into self-hatred and negativity. She described her emotions as a “downward spiral.”

Friends of the nurse say that they could see the terrible toll the promotion took on the woman. According to the woman’s friends, the nurse had a difficult time juggling work and a social life. The promotion bestowed upon her new responsibilities with which she struggled. One of the nurse’s college friends told a court reviewing the matter that maintaining a social life after the promotion was hard for her friend.

The nurse’s mother added another level of complexity to the situation in which the nurse found herself. The nurse’s mother told the court that the highly demanding job rendered her romantic life nearly impossible to maintain, Her mother said that the twelve-hours shift work thrust upon her subsequent to the promotion left her depressed and incapable of keeping a significant other in her life. The nurse experienced significant difficulty keeping a stable, long-term relationship. The nurse’s mother told the judicial tribunal that the nurse ended her most recent dating relationship simply by sending a text message.

Law enforcement authorities opened a coroner’s inquest into the nurse’s death. After a court hearing to determine the evidence surrounding the woman’s death, the court concluded that the nurse had killed herself by hanging and that the stress of her new job played a substantial role in the nurse’s decision to take her own life.

The coroner succinctly, albeit sadly, summed up the results of the inquest. The attending coroner said that the nurse experienced a substantial amount of stress that lasted for a very long time. The coroner added that the woman suffered from incredibly low self-esteem and, as a result, could not see herself as her family and friends saw her.

Help for Nurses Facing Professional Discipline

Contact Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger today if you are a nurse, doctor, dentist, or another medical professional facing discipline due to stress. Attorney Sanger is ready to help. Call Attorney Danielle Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a consultation.


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