Guest Voice: Finding balance as a CF patient and healthcare worker

I love my job and find the work that I do fulfilling. It’s cool to be a pharmacist.

That said, a major issue in healthcare right now is caregiver burnout. Providing round-the-clock care to someone who is sick can be exhausting.

Hospitals have all kinds of initiatives designed to protect the wellness of healthcare workers because we understand that burnout can affect the quality of care we provide. So why is it so hard to look in the mirror and recognize that the same thing can happen when we are both a patient and a caregiver?

While living with cystic fibrosis (CF), my ability to take care of myself has always been a source of personal pride. I remember how delighted I was as a teenager when I successfully learned to flush my own PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) line and attach an infusion ball. It felt good to know that I could handle my own needs. Self-reliance is a wonderful thing, but it is easy to overlook the mental exhaustion that can come with it.

Recommended Reading

Feb. 20, 2026 Columns by Lara Govendo

Finding a balance between supporting others and taking care of myself

I deserve to be cared for, too

One of the most important things I learned about burnout prevention as a healthcare worker is that taking care of yourself is part of providing excellent care. We are less likely to make mistakes when we are well-rested. When we extend patience and empathy to ourselves, we can also give it to our patients. We need time when we are not healthcare workers. There’s time when the scrubs and badges come off, and we are simply people.

For me, that usually means walking my dog after work. It is difficult to relive my day when 120 pounds of energetic fluff is dragging me down the streets. Plus, I have to negotiate with an animal who is perfectly willing to eat my shoes as punishment for not stopping for a pup cup every single day. That time away from work is important. But I’ve started to realize that I need the same kind of intentional downtime from being a patient.

Hear me out, because I know those two things sound completely different.

Managing my own appointments, medications, and health can feel like something that should require about as much mental bandwidth as taking a shower. But chronic illness doesn’t work that way.

Making sure medications are taken on time; managing side effects; remembering what needs to be refilled; scheduling follow-up appointments; keeping track of lab work; knowing when something has changed enough to call the care team — these are all things I do at work. And yet, when I am the person receiving that care, I tend to minimize how much effort it takes.

Why?

Self-management can become so routine that we stop recognizing it as work. When you have lived with CF for a long time, a medication or an appointment can feel like just another item on the list. You get good at it. You learn how to make it fit into your life, but being good at something doesn’t mean it takes no energy. That realization changed how I think about my own well-being.

I need to approach burnout prevention as a person with chronic illness the same way I approach it as a healthcare worker. I need downtime so I have the energy and attention to remember my medications, make my appointments, recognize changes in my health, and participate in my own care. Rest is not something I have to earn by first completing everything on my list.

This is especially important for those of us who have learned to be independent because of our illness. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that because we have less energy than someone without chronic illness, we need to work harder to make up for it. If we can just push a little further, accomplish a little more, be a little more productive, maybe we can compensate for what CF takes from us.

But pushing yourself beyond what you can safely give is exactly how burnout happens.

We already understand this when we are talking about caregivers. We know that an exhausted caregiver cannot provide the same quality of care as someone who has had the opportunity to rest and recharge.

When you live with CF, the caregiver and the patient are the same person. That doesn’t make the need for rest less important. If anything, it makes it even more important.

Taking care of myself is something I am proud of. Still, I’m learning that self-reliance doesn’t mean doing everything without rest. Sometimes I need to put the caregiver role down for a while and just be a person. I deserve to be cared for, too.

To submit your own Guest Voice for publication on Cystic Fibrosis News Today, please email your idea to our community editorial manager at [email protected] with the following included in the subject line: “Guest Voice: Cystic Fibrosis News Today.”

Note: Cystic Fibrosis News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Cystic Fibrosis News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to cystic fibrosis.