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Burnout isn’t just a buzzword — it’s a growing crisis that’s shaking the very foundations of healthcare, disability, and aged care systems. And in this week’s episode of Wellbeing Interrupted, I’m sharing why frontline staff burnout matters to all of us — even if you’ve never worked a day in the sector. 

As someone living with MS and stage 4 breast cancer, and having worked across social work, NDIS auditing, and corporate training — I’ve seen both sides. I know how much it takes to hold space for others… and this space needs to be held in return. 

This episode is a call to awareness, empathy, and action. 

 

Understanding Burnout in the Health, Disability & Aged Care Sectors 

 

Burnout isn’t just about feeling “tired.” It’s a full-body shutdown — emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by long-term, repeated stress. 

For frontline workers, burnout often goes unnoticed. You won’t always see someone collapse — you’ll see someone quietly withdrawing, emotionally drained, doubting their impact, and feeling like they’re holding everything together… barely. 

And when burnout takes hold, it affects more than just the worker — it affects patients, participants, care recipients, and families. That means it affects you, too. 

 

The Statistics Are Startling — And Global 

 

This isn’t just a workplace issue. It’s a looming care crisis. 

• Disability sector: 24% of casual and 16% of permanent workers are leaving (NDS, 2024) 

• Healthcare sector: 28% of nurses plan to leave in the next 2–5 years due to burnout (APNA, 2024) 

• Aged care sector: Up to 139,000 workers may leave within 3 years (CompliSpace, 2022) 

These numbers reflect something deeper — exhaustion, emotional strain, and a system stretched too thin. 

 

 

The Hurdle2Hope® Roadmap: A Practical Framework for Frontline Burnout 

 

After living through MS, stage 4 cancer, and working with frontline professionals, I’ve created a simple framework to help staff understand where they are emotionally — and what they need to move forward. 

This is the Hurdle2Hope® Roadmap, and it’s built on three stages: Crisis, Turmoil, and Growth. 

 

🔴 Stage 1: Crisis 

This is survival mode. You’re running on empty, overwhelmed, emotionally shut down, or just trying to get through the shift. 

For example: 

• A nurse powering through her third night shift with no breaks, telling herself “I’m fine.” 

• A support worker showing up to every appointment, but unable to be fully present. 

Mindset shift: Harness Your Strength 
This isn’t about pushing harder — it’s about pressing pause, delaying big decisions, and reminding yourself: you don’t have to fix everything alone. 

 

🟠 Stage 2: Turmoil 

This stage is noisy with emotion. Frustration, guilt, resentment — they bubble under the surface or spill over. 

You’re still functioning, but it’s taking everything you’ve got. 

For example: 

• A support worker snaps at a teammate, then cries on the way home. 

• An aged care worker feels disconnected from residents — and from their own compassion. 

Mindset shift: Regain Your Power 
You can’t control everything, but you can choose how you respond and what to focus on.  

This is where organisations must show up too. Turmoil is the retention tipping point. Don’t lose people here. 

 

🟢 Stage 3: Growth 

Growth doesn’t mean the pressure disappears. It means you're adapting, reconnecting with purpose, and finding your way back to what matters. 

For example: 

• A nurse debriefs with a colleague after every shift — and feels human again. 

• A worker starts noticing small wins and remembering why they chose this job. 

Mindset shift: Build Your Resilience 
This is where we challenge old thinking, try new strategies, and nurture a culture that’s truly resilient — not just coping. 

 

 

How We Can All Support Frontline Workers 

 

You don’t need to be in management to make a difference. Here’s how we can all help: 

👩‍⚕️ If you’re a leader or manager: 

• Prioritise wellbeing in PD and staff check-ins 

• Make space for real conversations — not just performance reviews 

• Model rest and reflection 

👥 If you’re a colleague or peer: 

• Ask: “Crisis, Turmoil, or Growth?” 

• Let people vent without fixing 

• Acknowledge the small wins — they matter 

🧡 If you’re a friend or family member of a frontline worker: 

• Don’t offer solutions — offer presence 

• Ask what support looks like to them 

🧑‍🦽 If you’re receiving care: 

• Know that kindness goes both ways 

• Your compassion can make a frontline worker’s day 

🩺 If you are a frontline worker: 

• Be gentle with yourself. Notice where you are on the roadmap. That awareness alone is your first step forward. 

 

Burnout Is Real — But So Is Healing 

 

Burnout isn’t weakness — it’s a red flag. A sign that support has been missing for too long. 

Healing doesn’t require overnight transformation. It begins with awareness, small actions, and community. 

The Hurdle2Hope® Roadmap was designed to meet you where you are — and help you move through the fog, one mindset shift at a time. 

 

Explore Burnout Prevention and Staff Wellbeing Solutions 

 

If you're part of an organisation looking to support your staff, learn more about our workshops: 
👉 www.hurdle2hope.com/PD 

If you’re an individual in healthcare, disability, or aged care — let’s connect: 
💬 Message me on LinkedIn: Teisha Rose 
📧 Email: [email protected] 

 

 

Transcript Episode 62 Frontline Staff Are Burning Out — And What We Can All Do About It

 

Teisha Rose: [00:00:00] Hey there, Teisha here and welcome to episode 62 of Wellbeing Interrupted. As I mentioned in last week's episode, it's been a very busy time. Last week we went on our road trip, so we went up to Sydney at the International Convention Center where the Australian Healthcare Week was being held, so I was part of the startup zone there.

It was an incredible experience, mainly meeting people, I guess, who are. Also passionate about improving the healthcare system and the aged care sector as well.

 It was also a fantastic opportunity for me to chat about what I'm doing in relation to frontline staff burnout. Also, to really see that this area is very relevant. There are so many [00:01:00] practitioners, frontline staff, experiencing burnout. So what I'm doing is very aligned with what is needed. So that's what I wanna talk about today, is burnout. If you're thinking, yeah, I'm not sure whether this episode is for me. I don't work in healthcare or aged care or in the disability sector, I promise you, in living with a health condition, burnout of frontline staff is very relevant to us. And the good news is we can also play a part in addressing this issue.

 So enjoy the episode. [00:02:00]

You know how in living with a health condition that you're feeling way more than just a little bit tired, and when people say, you know, rest up, you're just tired, you think, no, you've got no idea. My entire body, my, , my physical, my emotional, I'm just spent, I'm just so exhausted. That is what burnout is.

So it's not just being tired. I went and got a definition, um, from Psychology Today, and it says that burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and [00:03:00] often physical exhaustion, and that's brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. So for our frontline staff, we might notice any signs. You know, they're very subtle.

It's not like staff in front of us are collapsing on the floor and saying Enough, I can't do this anymore. So I just wanna give you a little bit of insight into what it might feel like for a frontline worker to feel. Burnt out. They might be feeling really emotionally drained after every shift.

They're struggling to switch off even at home, going quiet, withdrawing, not participating in conversations, feeling like no matter how much they give, it's never enough. Crying in private, in the car, in the bathroom at home, but keeping it together at work. Starting to wonder, can I ever [00:04:00] make an impact or difference in the work I'm doing?

Dreading to go to work, even though they're used to love going to work, feeling unseen, feeling unsupported, or just numb. Put in . Their own needs last. So doing that over and over again, and also feeling like they're holding everything together but only doing that barely. So just have a think about that.

And again, if you are living with a health condition, you might be feeling some of these things as well. So imagine feeling all of this and then still having to front out to support us. I wanted those say that burnout is not a weakness on the practitioner or on anyone going through it. They haven't failed because they're burnt out, but [00:05:00] it should be seen as a signal, a red flag that say that says, frontline staff are carrying too much.

They've been doing this for too long, and they don't have enough support.

And we can talk about burnout a lot. And what's startling is the impact of burnout. And if you look at the numbers, they're not good because there's such real life consequence for burnout. And I'll just give you just a few stats of, and. Because, you know, I'm not very statistical, but I think this really helps put it all in perspective and makes us realize, oh my goodness, this thing, this burnout, it's not just a buzzword.

This is gonna have a massive, massive impact on healthcare aged care and the disability sector. So talking about [00:06:00] disability and sector, again, these are Australian statistics. I know people from all around the world are listening to my podcast, but these trends are global. Um, so yeah, the statistics are Australian, but they I'm sure apply to what's happening in your country.

So according to the NDS, the Disability Sector report 2024, turnover for casual staff in the disability sector is 24%, 16% for permanent staff. If you're living with a disability, if you are an NDIS participant, this is scary because one in four. Casual staff are leaving and that creates constant disruption for participants and .

 , putting more pressure on those still working healthcare sector. Also not good. The A PNA. So the Australian [00:07:00] Primary Healthcare Nurses Association, they reported that 24% of nurses plan to leave the profession in the next two to five years. Reason being, burnout, under resourcing and emotional fatigue. So they're some of the key reasons. Then the aged care sector still not good there, and that's gonna impact all of us. 139,000 aged care workers plan to leave the industry within the next three years. That was from An Aged Care Workforce Report, in the Aged Care Insight.

And this is not just a challenge for the different workforces. As I said, . This will impact all of us. So not doing something about burnout. Doesn't make sense because not only does it cost organizations to get new staff, the problem I think [00:08:00] is there won't be new staff to get.

Because think about it, when I went to university, you choose careers that you want to be in, and if. Healthcare, aged care, , the disability sector, if they're not providing incentives and making workplaces a place where students and young people wanna be, that's gonna impact all of us.

 Okay, so we've now talked about what burnout is and how that impacts staff. Then we've talked about the statistics, they're alarming and how that impacts all of us. If you're sitting there living with a health condition, you're feeling vulnerable, exhausted, worried about the future, these stats aren't good either because our future's such a massive unknown and.

Part of what we need is to know that frontline staff are gonna be there to support us. [00:09:00] So what can we do about this? And this is what I talk about in living with a health condition. We can still have an impact. We can use our experiences to advocate for ourselves, but to also help those who are supporting us.

If you're listening to Wellbeing Interrupted for the first time, or you haven't heard much of my story, don't worry. I'm not gonna spend heaps and heaps of time talking about myself. But what I want to do is really to set the scene so you know what I'm doing in relation to helping frontline staff.

Isn't just theoretical, it comes from a place of not only wanting to help, but through so many years and years and years of experience as a patient, um, and as a participant in the disability sector as well. So yeah, there's a lot of experience on bringing to the table, [00:10:00] and part of that experience is from , age 22.

The universe handed me a massive challenge. I was diagnosed with ms. This was very aggressive. Early on, I had many, many episodes or relapses where I found myself in hospital and rehab, sometimes for months at a time, petrified I wouldn't get outta bed, let alone walk again. But I certainly learned from so many of these experiences, it made me challenge my thinking in relation to my life.

I left a corporate training career to then go and go back to university, become a social worker. Worked in, not in healthcare, but in emergency housing. Very, very pressured, stressful job. And Ms. Wise life was doing really well. [00:11:00] I haven't had a relap in 13 years, which is amazing. And I just saw my neurologist the other day and he said, no, you know, I am struggling with walking because that's damage done to my nervous system early on.

But my MRI, everything is very good. Um, there's no activity there, which is amazing. I also wrote a book, life Interrupted, sharing my Story, but the second half of the book was a self-help framework, health from hurdle to hope, , helping others move from, , a diagnosis to embracing life.

So life was going great. I then changed that part of the book into a course, a healing mindset, which was for those living with ms. I thought the course could apply to any illness, but I thought, no, let's just start [00:12:00] with MS and see what happens. Unfortunately, the universe had other plans as well, and the week I was launching that course, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

So another massive challenge added to that challenge was the afternoon before I was being, um, I was getting ready for a mastectomy because it was stage two breast cancer contained we thought to the breast.

Unfortunately it wasn't, and it had already spread to my liver and my bones,

So that was the most scared I've ever been. That phone call from the surgeon was, yeah, it was it. It transported me into a place I've never been before because all of a sudden you're faced with your own mortality. It was gut wrenching. It was so scary, and I managed to get through it, and part of [00:13:00] the reason I got through it was Ms.

And the natural reaction when I tell people I've got cancer, and MS is like, how unlucky is that? And of course, I, I'd give anything to not have either condition, but I've learned so much in living with MS that I've been able to bring that to cancer and all the mindset shifts I was. Teaching about in healing Mindset.

I applied those to this next massive challenge and it worked. So for the last few years I've been focusing on my healing. Part of that has been moving to our beautiful property at Daisy Hill. So where on a hundred acres of land I'm surrounded by nature and loving. That I'm here very different to living and working in corporate inner city of Melbourne for years, but this is the place I know I [00:14:00] need to be for my healing.

But for those who know me, not only do I wanna continue helping those living with health conditions. Now the good news is that I, in that I am in remission from cancer. So the cancer came, the cancer went into remission . Cancer came back into my breast. Um, so I went through with those two single mastectomies.

That was, gosh, that was sort of June, 2023. And since then, there's been no sign of cancer in my liver, in my bones, or anywhere else. So over the Christmas break, I was thinking, how can I bring all of this experience, not only to helping others with health conditions, but to frontline staff? , because I kept reading about the reality of frontline staff and how they are burning out, how they're leaving their professions, and I thought, [00:15:00] I'm in such a unique position here. Not only lived experience, also social work experience,

 but also I spent some time auditing NDIS service providers.

My role in those audits was speaking to staff and participants. So I have spoken to so many staff under pressure, feeling at times unsupported, and then speaking to participants and the impact burnout

is having on them.

 

Teisha Rose: So over the Christmas period, I took myself away for a few days and stayed in a beautiful hotel overlooking a golf course. So it was very peaceful and I just wanted to reflect on. My business hurdle to hope and how I can reimagine the hurdle to hope roadmap, and how we can apply that to frontline [00:16:00] staff experiencing burnout, but also for.

Young frontline staff who mightn't be at the burnout stage, but we want that not to happen. You know? We want them not to go through the absolute exhaustion and to actually apply insights to stop that from happening.

So during this time away, I reflected on conversations I've had with nurses, with allied health professionals in particular, my amazing neurophysio, my speech therapist as well. Another, another thing I went through during this period is muscle tension dysphonia. So for about 18 months I lost my voice, unable to speak.

So that I think helped my healing. But that's a, a side note and why my voice sometimes sounds a bit funny, so sorry about that. [00:17:00] Um, so yeah, so I went through all of these conversations I've had and thought. Let's make this roadmap apply for frontline staff.

 

Teisha Rose: And one of the most powerful things I learned, my aha moment was whether you are navigating workplace challenges as a frontline worker, supporting someone through illness or disability, or receiving care yourself, the emotional journey includes the same three stages crisis. Turmoil and growth, and when I reflect on 27 years of living with ms, I can see that I went through crisis turmoil, growth back and forth a lot of times, and that growth is a reason why I've been resilient in dealing with breast cancer.

So we just move through these stages in different ways at different times. [00:18:00] And the hurdle to Hope roadmap, why this works is it gives us a way of naming where we are or where someone who we care for is. And it helps us to shift our mindset so we can respond so we know what to do.

So we're not reacting, but we're also starting to work out how to protect our emotional wellbeing.. I.

 

Teisha Rose: So sounds good, but what are these three stages and what do we need to do? And that's what I'm doing in the Wellbeing Workshops for frontline staff. If you're living with a health condition, this is covered in the Healing Mindset course, but to give you a bit of an overview, stage one crisis, this is when you are in survival mode.

Hanging up the phone to find out you've got stage four breast cancer [00:19:00] frontline staff. showing up to work and feeling absolutely exhausted, not wanting to be there. Not sure whether you have anything left to give. This is when our nervous system is overloaded. You're feeling anxious, shut down, emotionally disconnected.

Constantly in sort of go mode, just doing what you can to get through the day. So you might be a nurse working your third night shift in a row, barely taking a break, telling yourself, I'm fine, but your body says otherwise you might be a disability worker. Not only doing back to back shifts, but not having time to reflect on your sessions, not having time to write notes, not having time to become recentered.

Ready for your next participant. [00:20:00]

So what I talk about during the crisis stage is creating an environment which enables you to harness your strength. This is what I had to do when I hung up that phone from my surgeon, finding out I had stage four breast cancer. I couldn't let my mind race ahead. I couldn't read the statistics of life expectancy for a stage four breast cancer patient.

1. For me, it was about reigning it in and focusing on the present, doing what I could do in that moment. So strategies like that, like pausing to breathe before you see your next patient about delaying big decisions. Not when you're in crisis mode, deciding to walk away from your profession, but delaying that until you get through this stress and also remembering that you don't have to fix [00:21:00] everything or carry everything alone.

This is a time to tap into your networks and feel supported. And that's why courses like I offer will be real important because sometimes this is when practitioners need to be supported, but the ability to do that or sometimes the want to do that is not there. So this is where you can have an impact on your staff's emotional wellbeing.

Stage number two is turmoil. This is where the emotions are the loudest. You know, a crisis has gone, but the frustration, the guilt, resentment, self-doubt, are simmering beneath the surface, or sometimes they actually overflow and you're feeling really emotional. You can't keep it in. You're still functioning.[00:22:00]

But inside it feels like you're out of control.

For those living with a health condition, this is like, wow, the reality hits. I'm dealing with cancer. That's not fair. You know, I'm dealing with a voice that's not working. I can't speak, not fair. I'm really angry about what life has given me, and as a worker. This means that you know you're annoyed at management.

You are annoyed that you're not being supported. You're annoyed that your colleagues have left. You're annoyed that you are having to pick up all the pieces. You're snapping at team members. You're not feeling as present with your patients or participants, or you know your care recipients in aged care.

You're feeling disconnected, you forget. Why are you doing the job you're doing?

So the mindset shift, which I talk about in [00:23:00] getting through this emotional turmoil and coming out the other side and staying in your job because reminding yourself why you are in healthcare or aged care or disability, recognize your emotions are valid. You're allowed to feel burnt out. Think about all that you are doing.

That you are not failing. You are not, not doing your job properly,

and as I said, for organization, this is where retention happens. You need to put time into your workers so they reconnect to why they want to work in your organization and in the sector. And you don't want them to think it's not worth it. And stage three, that's about growth. And growth doesn't necessarily mean the pressure has gone, but what it means is [00:24:00] we're adapting with more awareness and intention, reconnecting with the meaning of why you've chosen your profession.

And this growth stage is so important as this is where the mindset shift of resilience is nurtured. This is where resilience built. This is why living with ms, I was ready for cancer. Not one in it, but ready, because I'm resilient. I've done so much to evolve and grow over the last 28 years, 27 years, that I knew what to do when I hung up that phone from the surgeon.

So as an organization, this is where you wanna be. You want a resilient workforce, but that doesn't happen in isolation. That's about setting up, you know, through moving through crisis, moving through turmoil, and [00:25:00] then focusing on creating an environment where you are all willing to challenge how you think about and approach work.

And life. So organizations can't just sit back and think, okay, you know, keep going or add a a little course on the side and that will help. It's so much deeper than that because it's about creating a resilient culture that's open to learning .

Okay, so that's a very simplistic overview of the Hurdle to Hope roadmap and the three stages to thrive. But I wanted to share it because it is a practical way of us moving forward. I think sometimes these words, like, you know, being more resilient or I'm thriving, not just surviving. I don't find them [00:26:00] helpful.

I think we need to break them down and think, how can we become more resilient? How can we thrive? How can we reconnect with meaning and purpose in our lives? And that is the intention of the roadmap, and that is what I've built my healing mindset course on. And also these workshops for practitioners.

But as I said at the beginning, we can all have an impact on staff burnout. And this is not about just being responsible individually for fixing a perhaps broken system, but what we all can do is be part of the healing and through awareness, empathy, small actions that actually. Honor where someone is emotionally.

So this is my call out. [00:27:00] You know, if you are a leader or manager, create space for real conversations, not just performance reviews. You know, build wellbeing in professional development. It's check with staff that they're doing okay. Model what it looks like to pause, reflect, reset. 'cause that's what workers need to do to heal.

And that's what organizations need to do as well.

If a friend or family member or someone you know is working in the front line offer emotional space, , you don't have to offer solutions, but just acknowledge that what they're doing matters, but also that it's difficult. And ask what support looks like for them. You know, don't assume you know what they need, ask.

And finally, if you are receiving care or [00:28:00] support, be kind. Our workers are going through so much, they're very present with us during that session, but then they've got so many other sessions or patients or um, care recipients to see. So be kind, know that also in their personal life, they're going through things.

And remember that connection goes both ways. And if you're a frontline worker, thank you. Thank you for all you do. Be gentle with yourself, and I hope we can connect because I know that this roadmap will help. It will help you to move through the stages so you can enjoy work again. There's a reason why you chose your profession, so let's reconnect with that purpose.

 Okay, so if you are an organization or someone listening [00:29:00] who's working in an organization with Frontline staff, please connect. There's two different types of workshops. One for interactions with those receiving supports and how your workers can protect their emotional wellbeing during these. Also another one on workplace challenges.

So have a look line, , my website, hurdle2hope.com/PD for professional development and hurdle to hope with a number two. Also, my email [email protected].

I am also on LinkedIn, Teisha Rose. Also, if you're an individual working in different sectors and not, you know, part of large organizations, please also reach out. I'm gonna run some of these workshops for individual groups, so not [00:30:00] organizations, but , bringing together allied health professionals, for example, or, , yeah, other frontline staff.

So also connects with me on LinkedIn or via email and those living with a health condition. I promise I haven't forgotten you. This course Healing Mindset will have a such a positive impact on your life. Also, go to the website hurdle2hope.com and everything is there.

Thanks again for listening, and hopefully we connect very soon. [00:31:00]