What advice would you give a nurse facing burnout who still has a passion for nursing but is overwhelmed by the demands of the job?

I have gone through this myself- feeling overwhelmed with responsibility and needing to focus more on why I became a nurse in the first place. It is tough, and you might feel like you are alone in your feelings, but I can guarantee that you are not.

Reflect on what brings you passion about nursing. Is it the patients? Learning new skills and implementing those? Teaching patients or other nurses? Knowing you make a difference? Working with your team? The pay? Something else? A combination?
Now reflect on what is overwhelming you. Is it the number of patients? Being voluntold for duties? The number of hours or schedule you work? Is work carrying over into your personal life or are you able to maintain some balance? Feeling you don't have an impact?
Where do these passions and overwhelming feelings overlap, and where are they clearly different? Either use that as a base to start conversations either with your manager about roles and opportunities to focus more on what you love or in thinking about how you can make your career more of what you love. Do you need to go back to school or work for an additional certification? Do you need to change jobs or change employers? Is getting involved in a different aspect within your role enough (like joining shared governance to have more of a policy say, or becoming a champion/the unit expert on X skill or equipment)?

We in healthcare take on so much secondary trauma. We forget sometimes that it is OK to ask for assistance, and that it is OK to want to change. I loved my direct patient care experience, but having made a shift to nursing education, I can see how goals and needs change over time, and how there is still a role in nursing for everyone- you just have to find your fit.

Know that self-care and resilience are critical. But they are not magic solutions to burnout. You have a responsibility to take care of yourself so that you can show up and be the best possible nurse for your patients. Your employer has a responsibility too though- to provide you an environment and the tools to be the best possible nurse for your patients. If you feel you are being told that you are just not "self-care and resilience"-ing enough so are getting burned out, maybe consider having a discussion with your employer to build in some peer support and healthcare wellness support systems.