Category: Burnout

The Relationship Between Workload and Burnout Among Nurses

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The professional activity of nurses is connected with significant workload and stress, which negatively influences their physiological and psychological health. Among the widespread problems is burnout syndrome which comes on average several years earlier for nurses than for the staff of other professions. This work aims to determine the conditions contributing to burnout and how to overcome it based on four qualitative and quantitative studies.

PICOT: In nurses with higher workloads, how do psychological interventions to cope with stress versus communication skills development affect the severity of professional burnout syndrome for a year?

Research Background

This paper will focus on research that determines the conditions of emotional burnout syndrome severity. The purpose of the Diehl et al. (2021) study is to assess nurses’ professional performance and potential association with poor health. The article identifies how the problem of burnout affects nurses whose main activity is palliative care. It establishes whether workload affects emotional well-being; a quantitative online survey is used to address the question. The work is relevant to nursing because it establishes a relationship between a nurse’s most important ability, empathy, and hospital workload. The Zare et al. (2021) study was conducted to evaluate nurses who encountered Covid-19 and had burnout syndrome consequences. It establishes the connection between the problem of burnout and the influence of Covid-19 due to social and emotional distancing. The research question was to determine the main factor provoking the development of burnout; for the answer, there was a task in the form of a quantitative measurement of burnout level. The significance of nursing consists in the necessity to establish the long-term consequences of the pandemic.

For the study, articles were also devoted to determining ways to overcome burnout. A study by Mudallal et al. (2017) was conducted to determine ways to reduce burnout in nurses. The article makes the connection between the leadership behavior of executives and the prevalence of burnout. The research question was how this could be accomplished; the goal was to determine the influencing factors on stress levels qualitatively. The work is relevant to nursing practice because it points to the value of competent leadership and its role in reducing stress. A study by Wang et al. (2021) examines how online interventions reduce burnout in medical staff. The paper discusses how the burnout problem is overcome by online counseling. The research questions included establishing depression, anxiety, and stress levels following psychological interventions. Research objectives included determining symptoms’ prevalence and severity based on employee characteristics. Significance to nursing practice consisted of determining the value of psychological interventions.

Supporting the Selected Problem

Diehl et al. (2021) article will be used to answer what psychological conditions create work stress. The interventions in this paper were not discussed, and comparison groups included nurses with and without a palliative care orientation – correlating which interventions would be effective for specific clinic departments. The work of Zare et al. (2021) will answer the PICOT question about what influences increased workload and stress levels. The study’s interventions involve an offline survey that will establish stress levels before and after conducting their interventions; the study groups will include individuals before and after psychological interventions that were not included in the Zare et al. (2021) study. Consequently, these works will help determine the actual presence of the problem and potential recommendations, but not in solving it.

The Mudallal et al. (2017) paper will answer the question of whether communication by leaders will overcome burnout. Interventions correlate with the implementation of leadership in nursing practice, and comparison groups are associated with weak and powerful workplace business culture. The Wang et al. (2021) study will examine how psychological interventions affect stress levels. They are fully aligned with the goals of the PICOT-based study and include comparison groups across clinic departments. Consequently, these papers will help determine the actual impact of interventions on burnout levels.

Research Method

The studies used qualitative methods (interviews) and quantitative methods (measurement of burnout). Diehl et al.’s (2021) study consisted of a quantitative workload measurement, differing from the others in having a stratified sample. The method has the advantage of online access, but random sampling may not account for all experimental conditions. Zare et al. (2021) used a quantitative method to measure burnout, which differs from the others by having a predominant dependency factor, Covid-19. The method’s advantage is the breadth of the sample, but there is a lack of qualitative study of the results. Mudallal et al. (2017) included an interview-based assessment, which has the advantage of a face-to-face interview but is less effective for objective data. Unlike other methods, it is a more fuzzy method with no specific boundaries. Wang et al. (2021) also used a qualitative method to assess symptom severity in other medical staff, which differs from other methods because it gives an objective assessment based on psychological tests. The method’s advantage is its versatility, but the difficulty interpreting the results is its disadvantage.

Research Results

Diehl et al. (2021) found that palliative care in nursing practice is a significant predictor of burnout. Implications for nursing practice in the need for transformation of the nursing work environment. The changes will raise the value of nurses’ work and create a better environment for them. Zare et al. (2021) found that Covid-19 and social distancing are among the major factors currently leading to high-stress levels. Implications for nursing practice in the potential to manage the long-term effects of coronavirus. Long-term effects are likely to be monitored and addressed by preventive measures.

Mudallal et al. (2017) determined that leadership and communication within the organization can reduce burnout among nurses. Implications for nursing practice in transitioning to solid business culture and developed social communication channels. This could lead to more competent management of employees and their distribution in the workplace. Wang et al. (2021) determined that psychological interventions positively affect anxiety and depression levels while maintaining stress levels. Implications for nursing practice include increased online psychological testing and assistance for nurses in the face of professional stress. As a result, psychological comfort will be a primary goal for union organizations and the clinics themselves.

Ethical Considerations

Ethical standards cover protecting the rights and safety of subjects, which must be applied in any study. One crucial ethical aspect is obtaining informed consent from the patient – participants must know all relevant information and provide informed and voluntary consent to participate based on it. Another aspect is the prior assessment of risks and their minimization to obtain the expected benefits. Biomedical research should be as safe as possible and appropriate to the risk-benefit ratio of the intervention. All the articles used for the study took into account obtaining informed, voluntary consent for the treatment: it was done using online forms or by written consent. The studies were approved by ethics committees, which mean that the research was either conducted with minimal risks or was safe for the participants. In addition, participants’ anonymity and data confidentiality were ensured.

Comparison of Outcomes

Psychological interventions are expected to reduce stress levels compared to developing communication skills. Skills are also needed to develop leadership and culture, but they will only indirectly act on the magnitude of emotional exhaustion. On the other hand, psychological interventions will specifically act on nurses because tests will establish the actual causes of the prevalence of burnout syndrome. These interventions are expected to reduce susceptibility to stress by at least 30% within a year.

The results are likely similar to Wang et al.’s (2021) findings of reduced overall stress and improved all other interactions. In addition, according to Mudallal et al. (2017), there may be progress in internal leadership, but its magnitude cannot be precisely determined. According to Diehl et al. (2021) and Zare et al. (2021), recommendations for organizations on overcoming stress and ways to eliminate stressful conditions contributing to professional burnout will be established. At the same time, the stress level determined in the study may differ significantly from the data of Wang et al. (2021) because only nurses, not residents, will take part in the experiment. Likely, the palliative care data in Diehl et al. (2021) may also not support the findings. Consequently, selected studies will be needed to discuss their findings and make the connection between the data and the literature.

Proposed Changes in Evidence-Based Practice

The PICOT question refers to an evidence-based intervention in nursing practice to address professional burnout syndrome. The answer will establish the nature of the interaction between the effective practices used to manage stress and their actual impact. The results will establish whether the emphasis on psychological comfort among nurses is correct and effective or if it has no valid effect. The research articles simultaneously answer how burnout syndrome occurs and why it is so prevalent; from this, assumptions about how to deal with it effectively correlate with the PICOT goals.

Potential changes in evidence-based practice could be leadership strategies for improving the professional environment, where psychological support tools would already exist. A review by Melnyk et al. (2020) found that evidence-based practice, which includes cognitive behavioral interventions and mindfulness practices, positively affects stress and anxiety among nurses. Dincer and Inangil (2021) argue that psychological interventions are central to evidence-based practice because they have proven effective in reducing stress levels. The same conclusion is reached by Fiol-DeRoque et al. (2021), who found that connecting mobile psychological care reduces stress by nearly 2-fold and significantly improves nursing. Consequently, the introduction of psychological strategies is the most critical proven tool for overcoming professional burnout syndrome in evidence-based practice.

Conclusion

The problem of professional burnout syndrome is widespread in nursing because of high psychological and physical stress. High levels of stress, the presence of anxiety and depression symptoms, and emotional exhaustion force organizations to search for ways to fight it. Studies by Diehl et al. (2021) and Zare et al. (2021) indicate that changing the work environment and reducing trigger factors are recommended to overcome. Clinical studies by Wang et al. (2021) and Mudallal et al. (2017) confirm the positive effects of psychological interventions and the implementation of leadership and communication. As part of the PICOT question under investigation, the methods in the selected studies will synthesize a procedure that will meet ethical standards. PICOT research is expected to establish that psychological interventions are more effective than communication skills development. This is likely to be the beginning of a change in preventive strategies in evidence-based practice, which will focus on the psychological comfort of employees.

References

Diehl, E., Rieger, S., Letzel, S., Schablon, A., Nienhaus, A., Escobar Pinzon, L. C., & Dietz, P. (2021). PloS One, 16(1), 1-17.

Dincer, B., & Inangil, D. (2021).Explore (New York, N.Y.), 17(2), 109–114.

Fiol-DeRoque, M. A., Serrano-Ripoll, M. J., Jiménez, R., Zamanillo-Campos, R., Yáñez-Juan, A. M., Bennasar-Veny, M., Leiva, A., Gervilla, E., García-Buades, M. E., García-Toro, M., Alonso-Coello, P., Pastor-Moreno, G., Ruiz-Pérez, I., Sitges, C., García-Campayo, J., Llobera-Cánaves, J., & Ricci-Cabello, I. (2021). . JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 9(5).

Melnyk, B. M., Kelly, S. A., Stephens, J., Dhakal, K., McGovern, C., Tucker, S., Hoying, J., McRae, K., Ault, S., Spurlock, E., & Bird, S. B. (2020). American Journal of Health Promotion: AJHP, 34(8), 929–941.

Mudallal, R. H., Othman, W. A. M., & Al Hassan, N. F. (2017). The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 54, 1-10.

Wang, J., Song, B., Shao, Y., & Zhu, J. (2021). . Frontiers in psychology, 12.

Zare, S., Kazemi, R., Izadi, A., & Smith, A. (2021). Annals of Global Health, 87(1), 1-8.

Burnout Among Nursing Staff and Its Negative Effects

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Introduction

Nursing personnel are responsible for a wide range of tasks and are involved in a large number of activities, including both patient care and other operational activities related to maintaining the stable operation of healthcare institutions. High workload, improper working regime, and other factors are the causes of stress in the workplace. Stress, in turn, leads to burnout, which is characterized by a decrease in job resources and an inability to perform direct duties effectively (Tahlil, 2022). The more concerns an employee experiences, the higher the likelihood of rooting a state of incapacity. As a result, nurses lose productivity, which also negatively affects patient outcomes.

A tense work environment in different departments can cause burnout. For instance, Zhang et al. (2018) correlate burnout with compassion fatigue and note that the latter phenomenon often causes loss of performance in addition to increased workload. The purpose of this work is to identify the ways to overcome the state of burnout among nursing staff while simultaneously considering the prerequisites for its development. As a rationale, relevant academic resources will be considered in a literature review. Both emotional and professional aspects of nurses’ activities need to be addressed to eliminate the manifestations of burnout in the workplace.

Statement of the Problem/Opportunity

The development of burnout among nursing staff is an obstacle to high performance. According to Zhang et al. (2018), junior medical staff often cannot cope with the problem on their own, and therefore, management assistance is needed. The development of burnout can occur in any environment, but the intensity of the work process directly affects stressful conditions. Nurses are often forced to deal with such conditions individually, which is rarely successful. Proper assistance in overcoming burnout contributes to increasing team productivity.

As a potential problem-solving tool, multi-stakeholder involvement may be considered. Managers have a direct interest in improving the performance of nursing staff. As Smythe et al. (2017) argue, nurses often lack knowledge about coping with stressors. As a result, creating appropriate educational conditions can be an effective preventive measure to overcome the issue. Otherwise, the risks of expanding the level of burnout among the staff increase.

Based on the fact that the issue of nursing burnout entails significant difficulties in maintaining a normal working regime, appropriate improvement interventions are important initiatives. Involving employees in various programs and courses can be an effective change practice. Morale optimization can take place in different ways depending on the resource bases or the fullness of medical units. Ignoring the problem is fraught not only with a deterioration in productivity but also with a decrease in patient outcomes, which is unacceptable in the context of continuous care. Therefore, addressing nursing burnout often becomes one of the priorities in personnel management.

Background

The problem of nursing burnout can be caused by various reasons, which are essential to address timely. For instance, according to Tahlil (2022), a high workload can be a prerequisite for the development of fatigue and, therefore, constant stress, which, in turn, leads to poor productivity. The researcher also notes ineffective supervision as one of the risk factors because poor control over performance and the microclimate in the team is often associated with burnout among nurses (Tahlil, 2022). The HR department may not put in enough effort to keep the team running smoothly. As a result, nurses cannot count on their leaders’ support.

The compassion that nurses feel for their target patients may be one of the prerequisites for the development of the burnout problem. As Zhang et al. (2018) note, due to the mental exhaustion that is often unavoidable when working with difficult cases, many employees no longer feel compelled to perform their direct duties effectively. This situation can be observed, for instance, in intensive care units or in institutions specializing in palliative care. Moral exhaustion occurs due to constant stress caused by patients’ deaths or suffering (Zhang et al., 2018). In such conditions, this is challenging to maintain interest in work and demonstrate maximum productivity.

Due to little knowledge on how to deal with burnout, nurses often have to change jobs. This negatively affects the effectiveness of care and is a persistent problem for the entire health system. The involvement of management in the problem may be superficial, which does not improve the situation. The model of interaction with subordinates should imply providing conditions for the effective implementation of employees’ professional potential. Cases of burnout may be evidence of an illiterately constructed policy for the distribution of responsibilities in a team.

Significance of the Project

The practical significance of the project under consideration to find methods to reduce burnout among nursing staff is due to a potential increase in work productivity. Patient outcomes are a critical factor reflecting the performance of a particular unit or a healthcare facility. The ability to build a work environment where junior medical workers can feel stress-free is directly related to improving the quality of care. Moreover, the entire healthcare system can benefit from obtaining credible results of the analysis. Therefore, the proposed project is important and can help reinforce the value of nursing roles.

The resolution of the compassion fatigue issue is another valuable implication of the project in question. Helping nurses deal with stress is directly related to their training to overcome mental exhaustion. The more employees are aware of how to deal with difficulties caused by busy work schedules or the severity of cases, the more efficient the workflow will be (Zhang et al., 2018). In addition, the burden on management will be partially removed because there will be no need to look for alternative and complex algorithms for controlling and distributing tasks. Thus, the indirect problem of compassion fatigue can also be resolved through targeted analytical activities.

Helping nurses adapt to a stressful work environment is a perspective aimed at eliminating turnover and any other problems associated with understaffing. According to Smythe et al. (2017), increasing professional competencies should be not only practical but also theoretical to obtain objective knowledge about the specifics of the work process. In conditions of stress, staff cannot realize their full potential. Therefore, providing conditions for obtaining comprehensive information about the principles of avoiding burnout is a crucial condition. As a result, the proposed project has several valuable implications that can be analyzed through the evaluation of existing findings from a relevant academic background.

Literature Review

The opportunities to find credible materials and evaluate their effectiveness from the perspective of the stated topic can be realized by conducting a literature review. This activity involves collecting suitable resources containing the findings of reputable researchers and considering the necessary issues from different methodological standpoints. Approaches to data collection may vary depending on the tasks set, but in the context of the topic under consideration, any findings can be of the practical and theoretical value.

Methods of Searching

A literature review was conducted using the sources collected from credible databases. As the main resources, scholarly articles from academic journals were utilized. Searching for keywords, such as “nurse,” “burnout,” “compassion,” “fatigue,” “stress,” and “education,” helped find suitable resources. Both quantitative and qualitative studies were involved to use different types of findings. Search by time period (within the last five years) allowed for choosing relevant and valid sources.

Review of the Literature

The topic of burnout among nursing staff has been explored extensively in academic literature, and attention is given to a variety of work environments. For instance, Smythe et al. (2017) analyze the features of the work of junior medical personnel in nursing homes and argue in favor of the need to organize appropriate theoretical courses for staff. As the researchers argue, nurses often do not know how to cope with burnout caused by high workload and frequent patients’ deaths, and educational interventions can be tools for professional development (Smythe et al., 2017). At the same time, in their quantitative study, Dev et al. (2018) consider self-help mechanisms that nursing staff can utilize. The authors note the importance of timely detection of burnout symptoms and assessment of a personal emotional state (Dev et al., 2018). This practice may help prevent the development of depressive disorders. Both strategies are potentially valuable, but in the second case, work experience is a critical criterion that can affect the effectiveness of decision-making and become a deterrent in an adequate evaluation of individual morale.

In academic literature, particular attention is paid to stressors that provoke burnout, as well as the methods of overcoming them. For instance, Ching et al. (2020) highlight the importance of reflection skills that nurses need to develop to successfully cope with the workload. At the same time, the researchers pay attention to the significance of effective workflow management because such organizational nuances as busy schedules or lack of staff can cause employees’ moral exhaustion (Ching et al., 2020). At the same time, Mäenpää et al. (2017) draw a parallel between the level of engagement in a team and burnout and note that involvement in the work process should be considered one of the prerequisites for fatigue. This is critical for nurses to gain the right knowledge on how to combine different operational strategies to avoid overwork (Mäenpää et al., 2017). These ideas confirm the value of appropriate educational interventions in the context of combating burnout.

Stressors and motivators are not the only criteria that are considered in scholarly sources in the context of the nurse burnout topic. Van Bogaert et al. (2017) state that the individual characteristics of employees that affect the work process, such as communication skills or work experience, are critical to analyze as the factors that may be associated with uncontrolled fatigue. The authors remark that poor teamwork may be a prerequisite for the development of burnout among employees who experience moral discomfort associated with the inability to realize their potential among colleagues (Van Bogaert et al., 2017). At the same time, such a characteristic as resilience can increase fatigue resistance because, as Hancock et al. (2020) argue, it reflects the ability to deal with stressors regardless of the work environment. However, the aforementioned stressors, poor teamwork, and other barriers are factors that reduce resilience (Hancock et al., 2020). Therefore, nurses need to develop this skill as an attainment positively correlated with stress tolerance.

Despite the fact that burnout is an occupational problem, some studies highlight the importance of external factors influencing the level of fatigue in nurses. For instance, Tahlil (2022) draws attention to the work-family conflict as one of the prerequisites for the development of the issue. According to the author, based on the results of statistical calculations, it is revealed that the participants in the control group confirm the presence of burnout in case of work-family conflicts (Tahlil, 2022). This suggests that, in addition to peer support, this is crucial for nurses to maintain a favorable microclimate in families to prevent moral exhaustion. Regarding the issue of compassion fatigue, Zhang et al. (2018) note that, along with burnout, this problem is one of the most acute in nursing teams, as evidenced by statistical calculations. Thus, maintaining conditions for the normal work of personnel requires evaluating various criteria not necessarily related to professional activities.

Burnout among nurses is associated with high turnover, which is seen as a critical issue for the healthcare system. According to Karakachian and Colbert (2019), a shortage of nursing staff results in worse patient outcomes and, in addition, increases budget expenditures. Healthcare institutions have to spend more on recruiting and training new employees who do not have sufficient practical experience, and all these processes make it difficult to establish productive activities (Karakachian & Colbert, 2019). Therefore, creating conditions for employees to satisfy their professional interests and providing the necessary support are significant management practices that may help save budget funds.

Findings

The literature review has shown that the problem of burnout among nurses is studied from different perspectives, but all authors, without exception, agree that addressing this issue is a must. As one of the key initiatives promoted to increase workforce resilience to possible stressors, many researchers confirm the value of educational interventions in teams (Mäenpää et al., 2017; Smythe et al., 2017). In addition, training courses that management can provide are aimed at addressing an equally important objective that is also often noted in various studies, namely the strengthening of self-regulation skills (Ching et al., 2020; Dev et al., 2018; Hancock et al., 2020). The literature review has demonstrated the problem of the inability of many employees to cope with stressors on their own or anticipate impending depression or mental breakdown. As a result, creating conditions for increasing the nursing staff’s knowledge of coping techniques is an important practice to promote in different work environments.

The literature review has demonstrated the causes influencing the development of burnout in nurses. Along with occupational factors, personal criteria are important to consider; for instance, work-family conflicts can be the cause of poor productivity (Tahlil, 2022). Particular attention is also paid to teamwork as an indicator that correlates with productivity and employee morale. Based on the review, many researchers confirm that poor teamwork exacerbated by a lack of peer support can be the cause of burnout (Hancock et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2018). Regarding other organizational nuances, understaffing of nursing units may be a prerequisite for the development of both physical and moral exhaustion of employees due to excessive workload (Karakachian & Colbert, 2019). In general, along with managerial interventions, nurses themselves should be able to supervise their activities by developing appropriate skills, such as communication, and gaining more experience to better deal with difficult cases (Van Bogaert et al., 2017). All these findings confirm the significance of the issue raised and the variability of interventions that can be implemented to help targeted employees.

Outcomes, Approach, and Budget

Based on the findings, educational intervention is one of the effective strategies for teaching nurses how to prevent burnout. By organizing special training sessions with experienced mentors, staff can learn valuable lessons and identify the range of skills they need to hone. The budget for such an intervention may differ depending on the length of the course, and the costs will include both the salaries of mentors and the purchase of the necessary digital materials and equipment.

Strategies and Results

The strategy of implementing the educational course is a good practice to involve the required number of nurses in the training program. Creating conditions for obtaining valuable knowledge involves the exchange of experience and constant communication, which is important for strengthening peer support and improving the quality of teamwork. If, at the end of the course, employees express positive opinions about such an intervention by providing personal feedback, this will mean that the outcomes of the performed work have justified the investment and time.

Conclusion

Nurse burnout is a serious problem in the healthcare system because the moral and physical exhaustion of junior medical staff directly leads to a deterioration in patient outcomes. The literature review has contributed to identifying the most common prerequisites for this issue, including the lack of practical experience, poor teamwork, inadequate peer support, inefficiently organized workflow, and some others. Given the value of training as a potentially effective intervention, a nursing education course is proposed in which mentors can be involved. Gaining valuable knowledge about how to deal with stressors and prevent burnout can improve employees’ morale and, therefore, increase their productivity.

References

Ching, S. S. Y., Cheung, K., Hegney, D., & Rees, C. S. (2020). . Nurse Education in Practice, 42, 102690.

Dev, V., Fernando, A. T., Lim, A. G., & Consedine, N. S. (2018). . International Journal of Nursing Studies, 81, 81-88.

Hancock, J., Witter, T., Comber, S., Daley, P., Thompson, K., Candow, S., Follett, G., Somers, W., Collins, C., White, J., & Kits, O. (2020). . Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal Canadien D’anesthésie, 67(11), 1541-1548.

Karakachian, A., & Colbert, A. (2019).ournal of Forensic Nursing, 15(3), 133-142.

Mäenpää, K., Pyhältö, K., Järvenoja, H., & Peltonen, J. (2017). . Nordic Journal of Nursing Research, 38(3), 143-150.

Smythe, A., Jenkins, C., Galant-Miecznikowska, M., Bentham, P., & Oyebode, J. (2017).Nurse Education Today, 50, 119-123.

Tahlil, T. (2022). . International Journal of Nursing Education, 14(2), 24-33.

Van Bogaert, P., Peremans, L., Van Heusden, D., Verspuy, M., Kureckova, V., Van de Cruys, Z., & Franck, E. (2017). BMC Nursing, 16(1), 1-14.

Zhang, Y. Y., Han, W. L., Qin, W., Yin, H. X., Zhang, C. F., Kong, C., & Wang, Y. L. (2018). Journal of Nursing Management, 26(7), 810-819.

Skill Development for Burnout Prevention in New Nurses

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  1. Problem Statement
  2. Practice-Focused Question(s)
  3. Social Change
  4. The Context for the Doctoral Project
  5. Sources of Evidence
  6. Approach or Procedural Steps
  7. Ethical
  8. Alignment
  9. References

Problem Statement

The incidence of work-related burnout remains high in nurses when it comes to their first years of work in inpatient settings. As per Bakhamis et al. (2019), by promoting workforce attrition, the burnout syndrome further increases the workload on hospital nurses and lowers the supply of RNs relative to the country’s population. Burnout affects up to 70% of nurses; this and other job dissatisfaction factors result in 60-65% nursing staff turnout rates for hospital nurses within their first year of employment (Bakhamis et al., 2019; Boamah et al., 2017; Brown et al., 2018). In first-year RNs (the target population), the effects of burnout caused by bullying, exhaustion, and poor acceptance in the workplace are further exacerbated by humble wages, thus contributing to nursing shortages (Bakhamis et al., 2019). In phenomenological studies, first-year nurses’ workplace experiences are inseparable from difficult transitions to practice, the lack of “a beneficial transition period” provided by employers, and the feeling of disempowerment and stress, resulting in early intentions to leave (Brown et al., 2018, p. 282). This ubiquitous nature of burnout makes anti-burnout intervention selection a critical issue at the local and national levels.

The gap in practice that will be the project’s focus refers to the lack of knowledge regarding teamwork-focused interventions’ role in preventing or addressing burnout in new nurses compared to personal skill development initiatives. From preliminary literature search activities, existing research on the topic is rather fragmented and focused on testing particular interventions separately. Many interventions utilize personal skill promotion initiatives, including yoga programs, mindfulness training, cognitive coping strategy programs, mental attention training, resilience training, spiritual pain assessments, and similar approaches (De Oliveira et al., 2019; Lear & Andrewes, 2021). Some workplace programs emphasize teamwork and collaboration and find reflection in nurse supervision initiatives and teamwork courses, though teamwork-focused measures’ benefits for burnout reduction compared to personal skill improvement do not deserve much attention (De Oliveira et al., 2019). The literature review endeavors to address the gap and determine the role of teamwork promotion interventions in burnout prevention would inform the selection of optimal new nurse retention strategies for hospitals.

Practice-Focused Question(s)

The practice gap that the project will address is related to the limited understanding of teamwork promotion in reducing burnout rates in new hospital nurses and the lack of guidelines that would summarize burnout prevention knowledge and provide recommendations regarding teamwork-related interventions and skill improvement programs that support the hospital workforce retention. Specifically, the World Health Organization is concerned that companies in the healthcare industry, especially in high-stress hospital environments, are increasingly concerned with investments in treatments and medical equipment (De Oliveira et al., 2019). This runs counter to the recommendation to work on clinical environments’ quality and strategies to reduce teams’ job turnover intentions.

The selected practice question is as follows: how significant is the role of teamwork compared to personal skill development to prevent burnout in new nurses? The question’s relevance to the identified gap stems from the insufficient popularity of anti-burnout interventions that would prioritize teamwork over individual skill improvement (Hellyar et al., 2019). For example, in the literature review by De Oliveira et al. (2019), only three out of thirty reviewed trials demonstrate such interventions, whereas teamwork-strengthening interventions, including interprofessional peer-review programs for blame-free investigation of clinical errors, have been shown to decrease burnout levels effectively (Hellyar et al., 2019).

Social Change

By exploring burnout interventions in diverse populations, including new nurses, the project will promote social change emphasized in Walden University’s mission statement. Specifically, the literature review results will motivate healthcare organizations to strike the right balance between teamwork and skill promotion in burnout interventions for the staff, thus reducing a crucial barrier to success in the profession. This could increase the culture of nurse burnout prevention, resulting in fewer care mistakes and the optimization of nurse-to-patient ratios, which would eventually promote better outcomes for healthcare consumers. Individuals who might benefit from the results are HR managers and the executive leadership teams in hospitals involved in organizational efforts peculiar to nursing staff retention. Specific ways of promoting change might include distributing the outcomes of a review among local hospital managers or writing a health policy letter to promote burnout interventions that are in line with new RNs’ educational needs and evidence on effectiveness retrieved from current empirical research.

The Context for the Doctoral Project

The selected project type, the systematic review of the literature, does not require the student’s presence in specific clinical settings for successful completion. The systematic literature review process will require access to information regarding PRISMA guidelines and relevant databases, including PubMed, PsycInfo, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and so on (Pati & Lorusso, 2018). The author’s current practice setting, a critical care unit of a multispecialty inpatient healthcare facility, can further promote the research endeavors by enabling the student to get acquainted with some promising themes in nurse burnout prevention in critical and intensive care. Particularly, aside from preliminary analysis, the student will be able to identify the keywords and promising themes to be searched by transforming the observations and takeaways from intra- and interprofessional communication in the specified setting into knowledge to be applied during the systematic literature review process. New nurses are unlikely to have profound knowledge regarding burnout prevention programs and their components. Therefore, conversations with the hospital’s managerial team regarding the facility’s history of anti-burnout measures could support learning about strategies that should be reflected in keywords and inform the selection of inclusion and exclusion criteria for the literature.

Sources of Evidence

The current literature published within the last five years highlights the promise of teamwork-focused interventions in anti-burnout strategies. Evidence suggests that insufficient role clarity, which is related to teamwork, joins the ranks of significant contributors to job dissatisfaction in new nurses and is related to burnout symptoms in this staff category both cross-sectionally and longitudinally (Frögli et al., 2019). Also, evidence from cross-sectional surveys in all healthcare workers, including hospital RNs, demonstrates that a poor teamwork climate promotes disruptive behaviors that are positively correlated with staff burnout rates (Rehder et al., 2020). The findings above are reflective of hospital nurses’ perspectives on teamwork and burnout, thus highlighting the problem’s relevance to the profession.

Aside from the mentioned findings, the current literature hints at the great role of teamwork-related deficiencies in the emergence of burnout symptoms in nurses. As per research, teamwork improvement interventions are increasingly used in both new and existing hospital interprofessional teams for the promotion of healthier teamwork behaviors, but their potential for burnout prevention remains relatively unexplored (McEwan et al., 2017). According to the thematic analysis by Geuens et al. (2021), hospital RNs with diverse years of experience consider teamwork-related factors as crucial contributors to long-term burnout symptoms. The theme includes a variety of stressors, for instance, having to communicate with large groups of colleagues, including non-ambitious individuals and those who are overly assertive or too slow in their work.

Approach or Procedural Steps

The procedural steps will be informed by the multi-step protocol for systematic literature reviews. Pati and Lorusso (2018) offer a sixteen-step literature review framework that promotes procedural steps informed by the PRISMA guidelines and source classification/theme identification efforts by means of using Excel spreadsheets. Following the framework, the researcher will develop an unambiguous question regarding teamwork/individual skill development as an anti-burnout measure aimed at new nurses, come up with clear definitions for terms in the PICO question, and develop and approve the inclusion/exclusion criteria (Pati & Lorusso, 2018). After that, the researcher will conduct the initial review and the subsequent article quality checks.

The next efforts will be related to quality appraisal and review endeavors. The researcher will use the levels of evidence framework to rate the articles for inclusion, collaborate with another researcher in the field to conduct an interrater reliability assessment, and work on identifying critical themes and writing a report (Pati & Lorusso, 2018). The resources to complete the project are medical and healthcare-related databases, whereas the strategies to obtain data might include simple keyword search and Boolean search techniques (keywords and Boolean operators), depending on the searching system’s characteristics. Along with staff education initiatives, practice guidelines, and QI project evaluations, systematic reviews of the literature are among the acceptable DNP project types.

Ethical

The project will not involve interventions affecting staff members or patients in the author’s current practice setting, which minimizes the influence of ethical issues and the need for protection for human subjects. The ethical issues presenting barriers to successful completion are, however, relevant to the case. They include data assessment inaccuracies or biased attitudes to the question of interest, resulting in the review’s limited generalizability or applicability to practice. Some feasible strategies to overcome these issues include the implementation of the Cochrane risk-of-bias evaluation tool or similar tools during the quality appraisal procedure and measures to ensure interrater reliability, thus avoiding unilateralism in terms of interpreting the results (Farrah et al., 2019). Additionally, it will be crucial to demonstrate that the researcher does not have any interests apart from researching and summarizing the evidence regarding burnout prevention in nurses. Aside from that, no ethical challenges will impact project completion.

Alignment

In terms of alignment, the various aspects of the prospectus align and will support research endeavors to identify the potential gap in nurse burnout prevention practices employed in healthcare facilities, including strategies addressing burnout in recently employed critical care nurses. The sources supporting the problem of burnout in new nurses include articles by Boamah et al. (2017), Bakhamis et al. (2019), Brown et al. (2018), and other studies, whereas teamwork-related concerns are cited as a prominent factor in burnout in Frögli et al. (2019), Rehder et al. (2020), and Geuens et al. (2021). The previously formulated practice-focused question will promote the problem’s resolution by enabling the exploration of the nurse-perceived role of teamwork and individual skill development in burnout prevention. Similarly, the outlined procedural steps will promote the generalization of current evidence from diverse contexts regarding teamwork-focused interventions in strategies to prevent job-related burnout in new employees. The results of the research could motivate a positive shift in approaches to burnout prevention targeted at medical nurses, including new staff.

References

Bakhamis, L., Paul, D. P., Smith, H., & Coustasse, A. (2019).The Health Care Manager, 38(1), 3-10.

Boamah, S. A., Read, E. A., & Spence Laschinger, H. K. (2017). Journal of Advanced Nursing, 73(5), 1182-1195.

Brown, J., Hochstetler, G. A., Rode, S. A., Abraham, S. P., & Gillum, D. R. (2018). The Health Care Manager, 37(4), 281-289.

De Oliveira, S. M., De Alcantara Sousa, L. V., Gadelha, M. D. S. V., & Do Nascimento, V. B. (2019). Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, 15, 64-73.

Farrah, K., Young, K., Tunis, M. C., & Zhao, L. (2019). Systematic Reviews, 8(1), 1-9.

Frögli, E., Rudman, A., Lövgren, M., & Gustavsson, P. (2019).. Work, 62(4), 573-584.

Geuens, N., Franck, E., Verheyen, H., De Schepper, S., Roes, L., Vandevijvere, H., Geurden, B., & Van Bogaert, P. (2021). Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 53(1), 16-26.

Hellyar, M., Madani, C., Yeaman, S., O’Connor, K., Kerr, K. M., & Davidson, J. E. (2019).. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, 42(1), 96-105.

Lear, P., & Andrewes, T. (2021). Do mindfulness interventions reduce burnout in oncology nurses? A literature review. Cancer Nursing Practice, 20(4). Web.

McEwan, D., Ruissen, G. R., Eys, M. A., Zumbo, B. D., & Beauchamp, M. R. (2017). PloS One, 12(1), 1-23.

Pati, D., & Lorusso, L. N. (2018). . HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 11(1), 15-30.

Rehder, K. J., Adair, K. C., Hadley, A., McKittrick, K., Frankel, A., Leonard, M., Frankel, T.S., & Sexton, J. B. (2020).The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 46(1), 18-26.

Professional Burnout Syndrome in Nurses

Posted on | by Laureen
  1. Introduction
  2. PICOT Question
  3. Analysis
  4. Conclusion
  5. References

Introduction

The phenomenon of workplace burnout has become disturbingly common in nurses over the past decade. The observed issue can be partially attributed to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a massive increase in the amount and intensity of workload in the nursing environment (Diehl et al., 2021). However, the problem of professional burnout in nurses had already been established as a serious concern before the pandemic developed (Diehl et al., 2021). Therefore, the problem at hand can be considered a complicated concern that requires elaborate research and a meticais analysis. This paper will consider two of the most relevant studies addressing the problem of professional burnout syndrome (PBS) in nurses. Since the studies in question offer unique and complex insights into the nature and development of PSB in nurses, they should be seen as critical contributions to the further evaluation and development of solutions.

PICOT Question

In nurses with higher workloads, how do psychological interventions to cope with stress versus communication skills development affect the severity of professional burnout syndrome for a year?

Analysis

Background

Both the study by Diehl et al. (2021) and Mudallal et al. (2017) seek to examine the nature and leading causes of PBS in nurses. Specifically, the studies aim to reexamine the problem of workplace burnout in the nursing context, identifying the issues that are likely to be the leading causes of the subject matter. Additionally, both studies offer suitable solutions for managing the problem of PBS in the target demographic. Thus, the purpose of the articles in question is to explore the issue of PBS from respective angles, providing a commentary on the subject matter and offering a reasonable solution. Each of the studies asks a unique research question. Specifically, Diehl et al. (2021) question whether there is a connection between the level and extent of workload and the rates of burnout in nurses. In turn, Mudallal et al. (2017) seek to answer the question of whether proper leadership affects the extent of workplace burnout rates in nurses.

Support

The articles in question are linked to the PICOT question stated above directly. Namely, the paper by Diehl et al. (2021) allows the discovery of the nature of PBS in nurses, therefore, pointing to further opportunities for managing it. As a result, the outcomes of the research by Diehl et al. (2021) covertly point to the possible efficacy of psychological interventions as a solution for the PBS issue. Similarly, the research by Mudallal et al. (2017) introduces possible solutions in the form of changes in the leadership framework. Therefore, the connection between the themes of the articles and the PICOT question is obvious. Furthermore, the interventions offered in the specified studies echo the ones mentioned in the PICOT question. Namely, changes in the leadership framework described by Mudallal et al. (2017) could be seen as a form of psychological intervention, whereas the outcomes of Diehl et al.’s (2021) paper insist on revisiting the approach to the use and allocation of resources.

Similarly, the interventions and comparison groups in the identified studies share quite a range of similarities with the ones selected for this research. Specifically, the integration of a different leadership framework that Mudallal et al. (2017) propose can be regarded as similar to the concept of a psychological strategy. However, the reconsideration of the resource management strategy that Diehl et al. (2021) offer is quite different from the straightforward idea of integrating a psychological therapy framework. In turn, comparison groups are similar to those of this research, comprising mainly of nurses working in a healthcare facility.

Methods

In their research, Diehl et al. have chosen to use an exploratory cross-sectional design, which is almost identical to the one used by Mudallal et al. (2017), namely, a “cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational design” (p. 3). Therefore, the choice of the methodological approach is quite similar in the two articles. The opportunity to take complete control over measurement represents the core advantage of the specified research design. Namely, it provides full control over the measurement framework, thus, allowing researchers to collect an ample amount of data. However, the integration of the cross-sectional strategy implies the increased probability of a researcher integrating a subjective perspective toward the analysis of the data (Diehl et al., 2021). Therefore, the risks of obtaining skewed results can be considered higher than the ones observed in studies based on other research designs.

Results

The studies under analysis illustrate the vast opportunities for addressing the problem of PBS in nurses. Specifically, the paper by Diehl et al. (2021) demonstrates the significance of resources’ availability in a nursing workplace setting as the basis for minimizing the risk of burnout. Namely, the study confirms that the extent, specifically, duration and intensity, of palliative care represents one of the critical factors in the development of PBS in nurses (Diehl et al., 2021).in turn, Mudallal et al. (2017) insist that tools and strategies based on self-scheduling and the relevant approaches contribute to a drop in PBS in nurses. The specified research outcomes introduce crucial implications for the nursing workplace environment, namely, the role of proper leadership and the focus on self-management as the means of containing and minimizing the levels of PBS development in the staff.

The results are especially important for this study since they shed light on the available approaches to preventing the issue of PBS from emerging in the nursing environment. Moreover, both authors provide detailed information regarding the management of PBS and the problem of workplace burnout, in general. The combination of the two perspectives linked to the psychological framework for overcoming PBS-related issues provides a substantial basis for further analysis.

Ethics

The main ethical considerations associated with conducting the studies in question are participants’ confidentiality and the presence of informed consent. Both studies address the specified concerns accordingly, ensuring that the people involved in the study are aware of the goals and nature of the study and that their personal data is protected. Therefore, the core ethical consideration is addressed properly. Specifically, the studies in question have considered the issue of participant confidentiality and consent seriously by ensuring that all subjects of their research are provided with detailed information regarding the nature and goals of the studies.

Conclusion

Being ride with unique and critical observations regarding the issue of BPS in nurses, the studies under analysis must be recognized as essential contributors to the further discussion and management of the issue under analysis. Specifically, both articles reviewed above provide insightful commentaries concerning the phenomenon of PBS in nurses, as well as the accompanying issues. More importantly, both articles detail the factors that shape the current rates of PBS in the nursing staff, emphasizing the role that the pandemic and the associated lack of resources have played in the development of PBS in nursing experts. Most significantly, the studies confirm the solvability of the issue, specifying that the introduction of strategies geared toward more rational management of the available resources will help address the concern at hand.

References

Diehl, E., Rieger, S., Letzel, S., Schablon, A., Nienhaus, A., Escobar Pinzon, L. C., & Dietz, P. (2021). . PloS One, 16(1), 1-17. Web.

Mudallal, R. H., Othman, W. A. M., & Al Hassan, N. F. (2017). . The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 54, 1-10. Web.

Reflective Learning and Nursing Burnout

Posted on | by Laureen
  1. Introduction/Background
  2. Critical Literature Review
  3. References

Introduction/Background

The work pressures related to the daily Frontline role of staff nurses make them prone to stress and burnout. For this reason, reflective learning is increasingly becoming an effective intervention for enhancing resilience and understanding of professional practice for improved nurse and patient outcomes (Jack, 2017).

The purpose of this evidence-based project is to evaluate the impact of the adaptation of reflective learning on nursing burnout in managing cardiac patients in a coronary care unit of King Fahad Medical City (KFMC) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Anecdotal evidence based on the statements of student nurses undertaking a clinical placement at the unit formed the basis for this project. The student nurses often complained of stress and burnout during their placement at KFMC’s coronary care unit. High levels of stress and burnout can affect the students’ learning outcomes.

The genesis of nursing fatigue or burnout in nursing practice is ascribed to occupational stress, heavy workloads, low staffing ratios, and exposure to trauma/suffering (Khater, Akhu-Zaheya, & Shaban, 2014). Emotional/physical fatigue may arise due to heavy workloads. Burnout manifestations may be high in a coronary care unit because of the high exposure to trauma that causes emotional exhaustion (Khater et al., 2014). Therefore, the intensification of burnout among the student nurses in KFMC’s coronary unit may be related to adverse survival prognosis, exposure to patient pain/mortality, and age (Jack, 2017). Burnout manifestations among the student nurses included detachment and sadness.

It is crucial for student nurses and RNs to work in a positive clinical environment for their wellbeing and quality patient care delivery. A strong relationship has been established between nurse wellbeing and clinical outcomes (Romano, Trotta, & Rich, 2013).

This implies that occupational burnout or fatigue has adverse impacts not only for nurses but also for patients. Jenkins and Warren (2012) indicate that, in clinical settings, student nurses and staff nurses experience of trauma/suffering and heavy workloads reduce their performance and patient safety outcomes. Interventions that promote self-care have the potential of reducing nursing stress and burnout. Reflective learning, where nurses gain “new insights of the self and practice” from clinical experiences can ensure better preparation for similar situations (Henderson, Cooke, Creedy, & Walker, 2012, p. 302). As such, engagement in reflective learning could offer some protection to burnout, leading to improved nurse wellbeing and patient outcomes.

For student nurses, clinical experiences with cardiac patients; however, cardiovascular nursing can be demanding emotionally and physically. Reflective learning, i.e., meditating and analysing individual clinical experiences, can promote workplace resilience and professional development (Foureur, Besley, Burton, Yu, & Crisp, 2013). Nurses working with cardiac patients are exposed to trauma or distress on a daily basis related to poor survival prognoses. Further, in addition to attending to the patient’s clinical needs, they also provide family/patient emotional support – professional demands that often cause anxiety (Gomez-Urquiza et al., 2016).

Reflective learning is the key to better workplace resilience and coping with a stressful and intellectually demanding coronary care environment. In this paper, a critical review of relevant scholarly literature will be performed to establish the relationship between reflective learning and nursing burnout in a coronary care unit.

Critical Literature Review

Studies Worldwide

Nurses can improve their practice by engaging in reflective learning. A study by Crawley, Ditzel, and Walton (2012) involving American first-year nursing students found that reflective learning via storytelling builds confidence, awareness, and empathy in handling practice challenges. The authors conclude that the approach could be used to lower emotional exhaustion related to death or grief within critical care settings by enabling nurse students to construct “personal concepts around human experience” (Crawley et al., 2012, p. 49). Reflective learning through verbalised experiences/reflections allowed the student nurses to be sensitive and empathic to the practice complexities.

A disconnect exists between the pedagogical approaches for building the capacity to deal with stress/emotional fatigue and actual practice experiences. An integrative review by Dwyer and Hunter (2015) found that although reflection was a widely adopted instructional tool for improving the affective domain, the concept is rarely utilised in the American practice context. Thus, there is a need for interventions that support pedagogical and clinical preparation for demanding practice to build emotional and physical resilience in student nurses.

Analytical and critical thinking skills are emphasised in nursing practice. The compilation of a portfolio of evidence (PoE) based on clinical experiences is one way of enhancing reflective learning (Ticha & Fakude, 2015). A qualitative study examined the perceptions of student nurses in a South African medical university on reflective learning based on PoE compilation (Ticha & Fakude, 2015).

The results indicated that reflections captured in PoEs allowed the students to identify practice and classroom challenges and benefit from clinical learning experiences. In addition, through the reflective learning strategy, the subjects were able to develop the self-confidence and critical thinking skills required in nursing practice. Reflective practice also led to improved self-directed clinical learning. Therefore, the adaptation of reflective learning based on clinical experiences can motivate nurses to become critical thinkers and self-directed learners.

Besides critical thinking, self-care is considered to give adequate protection against stressors in practice contexts. Therefore, guiding nurses and learners through a journey towards self-care can enable them to manage nursing stress and burnout and enhance their efficacy. Blum (2014) evaluated a nursing program initiative that involved self-care activities taught to students in an American university.

The self-care practice activities involved mindfulness meditation and reflection in enabling the participants to learn from their experiences. The study found that self-care activities inspired and challenged students to deal with the stresses in their practices, be empathetic to others, and gain clarity on their professional goals (Blum, 2014). Further, through shared interactive experiences, the participants were able to identify self-care activities they can apply in practice.

Reflective practice is not self-criticism, but rather a source of psychological support for improved performance in the future. One way nurses can be motivated to engage in reflective practice is through clinical supervision groups. McAvey and Jones (2013) explored the views of clinical supervision groups in a London hospital on reflective learning as a tool for dealing with stressful and emotional issues in critical care environments. Participation in clinical supervision groups was shown to decrease burnout resulting from physical and emotional exhaustion. In addition, the groups provided a platform for nurses to compare practice with their peers, receive psychological support, and acquire practice skills required in critical care (McAvey & Jones, 2013).

Reflection is an important emotion-focused tool for reducing burnout to achieve improved wellbeing of nurses. Reducing nursing burnout contributes to improved patient care. Stewart and Terry (2014) explored educational interventions that could decrease nursing burnout in clinical environments through a systematic review. Their findings were consistent with those reported by McAvey and Jones (2013). Clinical supervision and training on stress management methods were found to contribute to lower burnout levels in nurses. Therefore, supportive relationships can enable staff nurses to deal with stress and burnout. In addition, professional/personal growth achieved through reflective learning can offer protection against burnout in critical care environments.

Studies in the Middle East

Studies carried out in Middle Eastern countries establish that engagement in reflective learning ameliorates stress and burnout by staff nurses. These findings are consistent with those of similar studies performed elsewhere in the globe. Baraz, Memarian, and Vanaki (2014) examined the reflective learning styles employed by Iranian student nurses in hospital settings. The qualitative study surveyed 15 baccalaureate student nurses in their clinical placements. The results indicated that the students utilised a variety of reflective learning methods in their practice with the main ones being “thoughtful observation, learning by thinking, and learning by doing” (Baraz et al., 2014, p. 529). The implication of these findings for practice is that classroom and clinical learning can be enhanced through reflective practice.

Reflective learning is particularly important during ICU placements due to the complex treatments involved. As such, the risk of stress and burnout for nurses and students is high. Vatansever and Akansel (2016) explored students’ views on ICU placements to determine student impact after the program at a Turkish university hospital. One of the key themes identified was the “comprehension of communication and empathy with ICU patients” (Vatansever & Akansel, 2016, p. 1043). Further, the analysis of the students’ views indicated that exposure to complex clinical procedures triggers reflective or experiential learning, which acts as a buffer against stress and burnout. However, the ICU can be a very stressful environment for students in their first placement.

A comparable study explored the clinical decision-making patterns of critical care nurses in a Jordanian hospital (Maharmeh, Alasad, Salami, Saleh, & Darawad, 2016). The study’s aim was to assess the use of reflective learning in routine patient care decisions. ICU cases require complex decisions that emotionally, intellectually, and physically draining. In this study, autonomy, collaborative decisions, and experience were found to reduce stress/fatigue in ICU environments. The ICU nurses exhibited great sensitivity and empathy to the patients under their care. Further, the authors concluded that reflective practice and experience increase the efficacy and confidence of ICU nurses in managing complex cases.

The risk of burnout and emotional fatigue is high in nursing practice. Social support systems that promote reflective learning can reduce the prevalence of fatigue/burnout among staff nurses. Ariapooran (2014) evaluated the prevalence of fatigue/burnout in 173 Iranian nurses and how they correlated with clinical support. The study found out that lack of social support contributes to compassion fatigue among nurses. In addition, a lack of engagement in support systems that promote reflective practice and collaboration increased the risk of nurse burnout. Thus, support systems that promote collaborative practice can help decrease the prevalence of burnout/fatigue in clinical settings.

Studies in Saudi Arabia

The prevalence of burnout in critical care and its impact on nurse outcomes has also been investigated in locally. Alharbi, Wilson, Woods, and Usher (2016) explored the impact of burnout/fatigue on job satisfaction among ICU nurses in a cross-sectional survey. The study found that burnout levels among Saudi nurses range between moderate to high in domains related to “emotional exhaustion and de-personalisation” (Alharbi et al., 2016, p. 715). Further, burnout was strongly correlated with low job satisfaction. Therefore, strategies, such as reflective learning, should be adopted in clinical settings to help nurses cope with stress and burnout.

On their part, Al-Sareari, Al-Khalidi, Mostafa, and Abdel-Fattah (2013) sought to determine the factors that contributed to fatigue among clinicians in Saudi healthcare centres. The qualitative survey found higher levels of emotional exhaustion among younger clinicians than older ones. This implies that experience and reflective learning can ameliorate the effect of stress in busy clinical settings. In addition, high levels of depersonalisation were seen in the younger nurse, implying that emotional intelligence develops with practice experience. Further, longer vacations were associated with low emotional exhaustion scores (Al-Sareari et al., 2013). Thus, vacations and experience can reduce the prevalence of job-related burnout among Saudi clinicians.

Job-related demands can adversely affect nurse performance. Al-Homayan, Shamsudin, Subramaniam, and Islam (2013) surveyed nurses working in busy Saudi public hospitals to identify the physical and emotional demands that cause poor performance. The main response to the heavy work demands was stress. The nurses also suffered from sleep deprivation due to the demanding nature of the public hospital environment.

The stress was ameliorated by organisational support for the nurses and care coordination. In addition, interpersonal support through staff motivation, consultation/collaboration, empathy, and share experiences was associated with reduced stress (Al-Homayan et al., 2013). This shows that collective reflections on shared experiences enhance resiliency among nurses working in a demanding clinical environment. Collective reflective learning also offers protection against emotional and physical stress inherent in critical care settings such as cardiac care units.

References

Alharbi, J., Wilson, R., Woods, C., & Usher, K. (2016). The factors influencing burnout and job satisfaction among critical care nurses: A study of Saudi critical care nurses. Journal of Nursing Management, 24(6), 708-717. Web.

Al-Homayan, M., Shamsudin, M., Subramaniam, C., & Islam, R. (2013). Impacts of job demands on nurses’ performance working in public hospitals. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 10(9), 1050-1060. Web.

Al-Sareari N., Al-Khalidi Y., Mostafa O., & Abdel-Fattah M. (2013). . Eastern Mediterranean Journal, 19(5), 426- 433. Web.

Ariapooran, S. (2014). . Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 19(3), 279-284. Web.

Baraz, S., Memarian, R., & Vanaki, Z. (2014). The diversity of Iranian nursing students’ clinical learning styles: A qualitative study. Nurse Education in Practice, 14(5), 525-531. Web.

Blum, C. (2014). Practicing self-care for nurses: A nursing program initiative. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 19(3), 120-129. Web.

Crawley, J., Ditzel, L., & Walton, S. (2012). Using children’s picture books for reflective learning in nurse education. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing profession, 42(1), 45-52. Web.

Dwyer, P., & Hunter, R. (2015). Preparing students for the emotional challenges of nursing: An integrative review. Journal of Nursing Education, 54(1), 7-12. Web.

Foureur, M., Besley, K., Burton, G., Yu, N., & Crisp, J. (2013). Enhancing the resilience of nurses and midwives: Pilot of a mindfulness based program for increased health, sense of coherence and decreased depression, anxiety and stress. Contemporary Nurse, 45(1), 114-125. Web.

Gomez-Urquiza, J., Aneas-Lopez, B., Fuente-Solana, E., Albendin-Garcia, L., Diaz-Rodriguez, L., & Fuente, G. (2016). Prevalence, risk factors, and levels of burnout among oncology nurses: A systematic review. Oncology Nursing Forum, 43(3), 104-120. Web.

Henderson, A., Cooke, M., Creedy, D., & Walker, R. (2012). Nursing students’ perceptions of learning in practice environments: A review. Nurse Education Today, 32(3), 299-302. Web.

Jack, K. (2017). The meaning of compassion fatigue to student nurses: An interpretive phenomenological study. Journal of Compassionate Health Care, 4(2), 1-13. Web.

Jenkins, B., & Warren, N. (2012). Concept analysis: Compassion fatigue and effects upon critical care nurses. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, 35(4), 388-395. Web.

Khater, W., Akhu-Zaheya, L., & Shaban, I. (2014). Sources of stress and coping behaviours in clinical practice among Baccalaureate nursing students. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 4(6), 194-205. Web.

Maharmeh, M., Alasad, J., Salami, I., Saleh, Z., & Darawad, M. (2016). . Health, 8, 1807-1819. Web.

McAvey, J., & Jones, T. (2012). Assessing the value of facilitated reflective practice groups. Cancer Nursing Practice, 11(8), 32-38. Web.

Romano, J., Trotta, R., & Rich, L. (2013). Combating compassion fatigue: An exemplar of an approach to nursing renewal. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 37(4), 333-336. Web.

Ticha, V., & Fakude, L. (2015). Reflections on clinical practice whilst developing a portfolio of evidence: Perceptions of undergraduate nursing students in the Western Cape, South Africa. Curationis, 38(2), 1502-1510. Web.

Stewart, W., & Terry, L. (2014). Reducing burnout in nurses and care workers in secure settings. Nursing Standard, 28(34), 37-45. Web.

Vatansever, V., & Akansel, N. (2016). .International Journal of Caring, 9(3), 1040-1049. Web.

Preventing Nurse Burnout With Workplace Interventions

Posted on | by Laureen
  1. Introduction
  2. Project Proposal Topic
  3. Capstone Proposal
  4. Background
  5. Literature Review
  6. Conclusion
  7. References

Introduction

This capstone project’s goal is to explore the issue of nurse burnout in the healthcare industry. Burnout is a widespread problem that affects not only the health and well-being of nurses but also the quality of patient care (Fitzpatrick et al., 2019). According to Bogue and Bogue (2020), burnout emerges as an epidemic in healthcare. This research will look at the origins and consequences of nurse burnout and identify strategies for preventing and managing burnout in the workplace. The research is conducted through a review of relevant literature and a survey of healthcare facilities and nurses.

Project Proposal Topic

The project proposal focuses on the exploration of nurse burnout in the healthcare industry. The aim is to understand the causes, consequences, and strategies for preventing and managing nurse burnout in the workplace. According to Buckley et al. (2020), peer-reviewed literature ensures the quality of the data reviewed. Therefore, the research will include a literature review and a survey of healthcare facilities and nurses. This project aims to contribute to developing practical solutions for reducing nurse burnout and improving the quality of patient care.

Capstone Proposal

Project Question (PICOT): What is the impact of workplace interventions on reducing nurse burnout in the healthcare industry? Title of the Project: Preventing Nurse Burnout: An Examination of Workplace Interventions. Proposal: Nurse burnout is a serious issue that affects not only the health and well-being of nurses but also the quality of patient care (Fitzpatrick et al., 2019). This capstone project examines workplace interventions’ impact on reducing nurse burnout in the healthcare industry. It sheds light on the effectiveness of workplace interventions in reducing nurse burnout.

One of the interventions that will be explored is the implementation of workplace wellness programs. These programs can include activities such as exercise classes, stress management workshops, and counseling services. Another intervention that will be studied is flexible scheduling, allowing nurses more control over their work-life balance (Mlambo et al., 2021). Generally, the role of nurse managers in promoting a healthy work environment and addressing nurse burnout will also be examined. This project aims to explore the effectiveness of workplace wellness programs.

The findings provide valuable insight into the effectiveness of workplace interventions in reducing nurse burnout. It informs the development of strategies to promote a healthier work environment for nurses. The work environment is the conditions in which nurses work (Buckley et al., 2020). Ultimately, this project aims to improve the quality of patient care by reducing nurse burnout. It also promotes a sustainable work environment for nurses and other healthcare practitioners.

Background

The issue of nurse burnout is a pressing concern in the healthcare industry, affecting the standard of patient care and the nurses’ health and well-being. The signs of burnout entail emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and decreased personal accomplishment (Bogue & Bogue, 2020). It can lead to reduced job satisfaction and increased healthcare costs. This capstone project aims to address nurse burnout by exploring the impact of workplace interventions on reducing burnout levels. The project addresses nurse burnout by examining the effect of workplace interventions.

A literature study and a survey of hospitals and nurses will be used to conduct the research. It will focus on identifying effective strategies for preventing and managing nurse burnout in the workplace. This project was selected because nurse burnout is a critical issue in the healthcare industry and significantly impacts nurses’ and patients’ care quality (Johnson et al., 2017). Nurses have witnessed the toll that burnout can take on their colleagues. Finding ways to address this issue is crucial for nurses’ well-being and the healthcare industry’s sustainability.

Nurse burnout has multiple causes, including extended hours and high stress. It results in burnout symptoms like exhaustion and feeling overwhelmed. It can also result in excessive workload and increased pressure on nurses to perform their duties efficiently. The study will explore ways to enhance the work environment for nurses and reduce burnout through practical solutions. It aims to contribute to a healthier and more sustainable workplace for nursing professionals.

Literature Review

The literature review plays a crucial role in this capstone project. It provides a comprehensive understanding of the current research on nurse burnout and workplace interventions to reduce burnout levels (Bogue & Bogue, 2020). It will examine peer-reviewed articles and other academic sources to identify the key themes and findings related to the problem of nurse burnout and effective strategies for reducing it (Buckley et al., 2020). This information will inform the design of the survey component and the development of recommendations for improving the work environment for nurses. It serves as a foundation for the project, ensuring that the methodology is well-informed and based on the latest scientific evidence.

Methods of Searching

A literature review was conducted using both electronic and manual resources. Relevant databases such as PubMed, CINAHL, and ProQuest were searched using keywords related to nursing burnout and workplace interventions (Norful et al., 2018). The manual search involved reviewing reference lists of relevant articles and books. The investigation was limited to English language sources published in the last five years. The sources were then evaluated for relevance, quality, and credibility before being included in the literature review. This comprehensive and systematic approach ensured that the information gathered was up-to-date and relevant to the current state of the research.

Review of the Literature

The literature review examined the growing issue of nurse burnout and the potential solutions to address this problem. The study used electronic and manual resources, including PubMed, CINAHL, and ProQuest databases, to compile the most recent information. It was restricted to sources published within the last five years. The restriction ensured that the information gathered was up-to-date and relevant to the current state of the research. Filtering occurred in the database used to produce peer-reviewed articles.

The literature found that nurse burnout is a growing concern in nursing. High levels of burnout impact the quality of care and contribute to high turnover rates. Contributing factors to nurse burnout include heavy workloads, lack of support from colleagues and supervisors, and poor working conditions (Dall’Ora et al., 2020). The nurse will ultimately reduce their work performance, and some will desire to quit. Eventually, the healthcare system faces challenges whenever there are scarce nurses.

The literature review identified several workplace interventions that have shown promise in reducing burnout. These include programs to improve work-life balance and provide nurses with support and resources. Another intervention is to improve the working conditions of the nurses. One study found that a workplace wellness program, which provided education and resources for stress management and self-care, significantly reduced nurse burnout (Johnson et al., 2017). It highlights the significance of nurse burnout and the need for effective interventions to address this issue.

Further research shows more interventions that could reduce nurse burnout. According to another study, offering opportunities for professional development and growth, such as continuing education and leadership training, reduced burnout and improved job satisfaction among nurses (Fitzpatrick et al., 2019). Regular skill renewal and upgrading are necessary for healthcare workers. The literature review also highlighted the importance of addressing burnout at the organizational level. It includes creating a supportive work environment, promoting work-life balance, and providing resources and support for nurses.

Nurse burnout is a significant problem in the healthcare industry. It affects both the well-being of nurses and the quality of patient care. Workplace interventions, such as wellness programs and professional development opportunities, have shown promise in reducing burnout and improving nurses’ job satisfaction (Johnson et al., 2017). However, the most practical methods for reducing nurse burnout and enhancing the working conditions for nurses require more investigation. This capstone project aims to contribute to the ongoing effort to reduce nurse burnout and improve the work environment for nurses.

Findings

The literature has shown that nurse burnout is a growing concern in nursing. Burnout harms the quality of care nurses provide. Heavy workloads, a lack of support from peers and managers, and unfavorable working circumstances are all factors that contribute to nursing burnout (Dall’Ora et al., 2020). The literature review identified several workplace interventions that have shown promise in reducing burnout. These include programs to improve work-life balance, provide nurses with support and resources, and improve working conditions.

Additionally, addressing nurse burnout at the organizational level through supportive work environments and involving nurses in decision-making can help reduce burnout. It is found that continued professional development in nursing is an effective strategy for reducing nurse burnout and enhancing the nursing workforce (Mlambo et al., 2021). A nurse practitioner is an example of a registered nurse holding a doctoral degree. The findings intend to lessen nurse burnout and enhance the working conditions for nurses. These findings provide valuable insight into the most successful strategies for promoting a healthy and sustainable work environment for nurses.

Objectives

The project targets nurse burnout with three objectives. Objective 1: Evaluate the workplace wellness program’s impact on nurse burnout (Ernawati et al., 2022). Objective 2: Boost nurse engagement by involving them in decision-making (Fitzpatrick et al., 2019). Objective 3: Improve nurse work-life balance with flexible arrangements and resources for stress management. These objectives ensure that the project is focused and aligned to reduce nurse burnout.

Strategies

Two strategies will be employed to achieve the first objective: to identify the extent of nurse burnout in healthcare facilities. Firstly, a survey will be administered to a sample of nurses to assess their level of burnout (Ernawati et al., 2022). The survey will include questions about the frequency and intensity of symptoms associated with burnout. These may entail emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment. Secondly, a focus group will be organized to allow nurses to share their experiences and perspectives on nurse burnout.

The second objective is to understand the contributing factors to nurse burnout. Two strategies will be used in order to achieve this. Firstly, the survey and focus group results will be analyzed to identify patterns or trends. Secondly, a review of the relevant literature will be conducted to identify gaps in the current understanding of nurse burnout (Buckley et al., 2020). All this will ensure that all relevant factors are considered when developing strategies to reduce nurse burnout.

The third objective is to develop and implement an intervention to reduce nurse burnout. A customized program will be designed that addresses the contributing factors identified in the analysis of the survey and focus group results. It may include training sessions on stress management for nurses and healthcare administrators (Ernawati et al., 2022). Secondly, workplace practices will be implemented to support work-life balance for nurses. It includes flexible schedules and opportunities for professional development for nurses.

Evaluation

Evaluation of the project will be crucial to determine its success in achieving the objectives and improving patient outcomes/safety. Several methods will be used to evaluate the capstone project. These include data analysis, surveys, random interviews, and focus groups. The data collected from these methods will be used to determine the effectiveness of the strategies implemented in addressing the objectives (Dall’Ora et al., 2020). One of the required evaluation methods will be data analysis.

The patient data is analyzed to determine any improved outcomes and safety. It includes patient satisfaction levels, patient outcomes, and the number of adverse events. The collection of data is before and after the implementation of the strategies. A comparison of the two data sets will be used to determine if there has been any improvement. In addition to data analysis, surveys and focus groups will gather feedback from patients and healthcare providers.

The evaluations will provide insight into the perceived effectiveness of the strategies and any potential areas for improvement. This feedback will refine the plan and make any necessary changes to improve patient safety (Fitzpatrick et al., 2019). The project evaluation will be ongoing and will provide valuable information on its effectiveness. The assessment results will be used to make necessary changes to the project and ensure that it continues improving patient outcomes and safety. Upon thorough evaluation, the project is ready to be actualized.

Budget

The budget for this project will include various items necessary for its successful implementation. These items include resources for conducting workshops and training sessions for the nursing staff, materials for disseminating information and awareness, and software and tools required for data collection and analysis. The funding for these budget items will come from various sources, such as grants, sponsorships, and in-kind contributions from the healthcare organization where the project will be implemented. The total budget required for the successful completion of the project will be determined after carefully considering all the necessary expenses. It will be subject to change as per the needs of the project.

Conclusion

Nurse burnout is a pressing issue affecting the quality of patient care and nursing professionals’ overall health and well-being. The capstone project aims to combat nurse burnout, which affects patient care and health (Ernawati et al., 2022). Evidence supports the need for stress-reducing interventions to enhance work-life balance. The project targets the issue of nurse burnout and its negative impact on patients and healthcare workers. The study aims to offer a solution to improve outcomes for both patients and healthcare professionals.

The objectives and strategies outlined in this proposal are well-defined and achievable. The evaluation plan will help determine the effectiveness of the interventions. The initiative has the potential to significantly influence many people’s lives and the healthcare system as a whole, with sufficient financing and support. It is a valuable contribution to the field of nursing and healthcare. The project will help advance the understanding of mitigating nurse burnout and promoting better patient care outcomes.

The project aims to address the issue of nurse burnout through research and interventions. It, therefore, offers solutions to promote healthy work environments for nurses. New nurses face challenges and often lack resilience, but this project can guide the healthcare industry in supporting these professionals (Buckley et al., 2020). The insights gained will benefit nurses and patients, creating a brighter future in the healthcare field. This project serves as a blueprint for governments and institutions to follow in preventing nurse burnout.

References

Bogue, T. L., & Bogue, R. L. (2020). . Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America, 32(3), 451–463. Web.

Buckley, L., Berta, W., Cleverley, K., Medeiros, C., & Widger, K. (2020). . Human Resources for Health, 18(1). Web.

Dall’Ora, C., Ball, J., Reinius, M., & Griffiths, P. (2020). . Human Resources for Health, 18(1). Web.

Ernawati, E., Mawardi, F., Roswiyani, R., Melissa, M., Wiwaha, G., Tiatri, S., & Hilmanto, D. (2022). . Journal of Occupational Health, 64(1). Web.

Fitzpatrick, B., Bloore, K., & Blake, N. (2019). . AACN Advanced Critical Care, 30(2), 185–188. Web.

Johnson, J., Hall, L. H., Berzins, K., Baker, J., Melling, K., & Thompson, C. (2017). . International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 27(1), 20–32. Web.

Mlambo, M., Silén, C., & McGrath, C. (2021). . BMC Nursing, 20(1). Web.

Norful, A. A., De Jacq, K., Carlino, R., & Poghosyan, L. (2018). . The Annals of Family Medicine, 16(3), 250–256. Web.

Nurse Burnout and Leading Factors

Posted on | by Laureen
  1. Introduction
  2. Statement of Problem
  3. Significance of the Project
  4. Conclusion
  5. References

Introduction

In the present day, there are multiple issues that exist in the health care system. The shortages of health care providers, poor quality of health care delivery, and medical errors are among the most serious ones (Kaple, 2022). However, these problems frequently have the same reason – nurse burnout. This project aims to evaluate factors that lead to nurse burnout. This goal is determined by the necessity to address this issue due to its interconnectedness with other challenges and develop efficient solutions.

Statement of Problem

Nurse burnout may be regarded as a critical healthcare issue that requires particular attention and efficient response. Although almost any occupation presupposes exposure to stress, nurses are more vulnerable to high-stress levels compared to other specialists due to the peculiarities of the work environment and duties (Dall’Ora et al., 2020). In turn, when stress becomes chronic and is unsuccessfully managed, it leads to nurse burnout – a specialist’s physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion associated with frustration, cynicism, lack of motivation, and poor performance (Mudallal et al., 2017). The significance of this problem is justified by its scope and aggravation – while in 2013, Medscape Lifestyle Report demonstrated that 40% of healthcare providers experienced burnout, in 2017, this rate increased up to 51% (Reith, 2018). In addition, the necessity of efficient solutions is determined by the fact that nurse burnout leads to multiple negative consequences for a health care specialist, patients, and the health care system in general.

Significance of the Project

Background

As a reduction in a healthcare worker’s energy, burnout has multiple negative consequences. First of all, it is impossible to deny the detrimental impact of stress on a person’s physical and mental health. Nurses who experience burnout are at substantial risk of the development of various health issues connected with musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, endocrine, nervous, and reproductive systems (APA, 2018). Moreover, they are extremely vulnerable to mental health disorders, including anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. The severe deterioration of a specialist’s health leads to a person’s inability to work – in this case, burnout contributes to the shortages of healthcare providers. Meanwhile, those nurses who stay but face burnout may demonstrate poor performance due to a lack of attention, motivation, and compassion for patients.

Context

The project will be dedicated to the examination of nurse burnout. As data for it will be collected through communication with healthcare providers, it is not necessary to be present in a medical facility. On the other hand, the observation of nurses’ work environment, along with interaction with them, will provide a more reliable insight into the matter of the burnout issue. Nevertheless, the project will attract nurses who work in the same hospital who will be interviewed, addressing the particular aspects of a defined issue. The main criteria for the inclusion in the project are the potential participants’ willingness and the experience of burnout in the workplace.

Issues of Care

There are multiple aspects of the problem of nurse burnout. However, some of them, such as their consequences, are well-developed and examined. Thus, this project aims to focus on other characteristics of this issue. The project should have the potential to improve the situation. Thus, particular attention will be on the causes of nurse burnout and the factors of the work environment that lead to this condition.

Influence on Policies and Practice

The evaluation of nurse burnout reasons may substantially impact the public policies and facilities’ inner practices for the avoidance of this phenomenon. Thus, being aware of workforce factors of nurse burnout, nurses’ unions and associations may advocate changes in regulations to guarantee more appropriate working conditions for specialists. In addition, the authorities of medical facilities will consider the review of their inner policies for the minimization of employees’ burden that causes the depletion of their energy. Moreover, on the basis of the results, special training for nurses may be organized. Due to them, healthcare workers will learn to prevent and cope with burnout.

Next Steps

In general, the results of this project will be beneficial in two major ways. First of all, they may be practically applied to prevent nurse burnout and mitigate its consequences. As previously mentioned, data collected from nurses and subsequently analyzed by researchers may be used by authorities to develop a framework within which particular actions for the improvement of nurses’ working conditions will be taken. Moreover, the project’s outcomes may provide a basis for future research. For instance, it may be the evaluation of the impact of nurses’ personal characteristics on resilience and the mitigation of stress.

Benefits from the Project

First of all, this project will be beneficial for healthcare educators. On the basis of its results, they will be able to create efficient programs to help healthcare providers to avoid burnout. Therefore, the project will be beneficial for nurses and other medical staff. When actions are taken, they will receive clear algorithms of actions to defend themselves from burnout. Finally, the project will benefit nurse leaders as they will have an opportunity to enhance their skills to support nurses who face burnout.

Conclusion

The project will address the problem of nurse burnout and its factors in particular. As a serious stress-related condition, burnout leads to multiple negative consequences. It negatively impacts nurses’ emotional and physical health, patients’ outcomes, and the healthcare system’s performance (Mudallal et al., 2017). In turn, examining burnout’s causes may initiate significant changes in policies and practices to reduce this issue. While this project will have practical benefits, it may also contribute to future research.

References

APA. (2018).

Dall’Ora, C., Ball, J., Reinius, M., & Griffiths, P. (2020).Human Resources for Health, 18(1), 1-17.

Kaple, T. (2022). . Nurse Journal.

Mudallal, R. H., Othman, W. A. M., & Al Hassan, N. F. (2017). INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 54, 1-10.

Reith, T. P. (2018). Cureus, 10(12), 1-9.

The Buddy System Reducing Burnout Among Nurses

Posted on | by Laureen
  1. Introduction
  2. Research Findings
  3. The Desired Outcome of the Buddy System’s Implementation into Practice
  4. The Rate of the Buddy System’s Implementation
  5. Possible Barriers to Practical Implementation
  6. Ways to Overcome the Barriers
  7. Resources for the Buddy System Implementation’ Informational Support
  8. Conclusion
  9. References

Introduction

The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected people worldwide, both physically and psychologically. Medical staff, the frontline fighters against the virus and the pandemic’s ramifications, experiences a dramatically increased level of pressure, stress, and anxiety. It often results in the care providers’ burnout which affects their mental and psychological health and professional performance making many workers quit their jobs. Researchers and healthcare organizations have developed and suggested strategies and programs to support them, including the buddy system. The paper’s objective is to evaluate the buddy system’s implementation among nursing staff into practice.

Research Findings

Different healthcare organizations provided guidelines for hospitals’ managers and nurse leaders comprising coping techniques for nurses’ burnout prevention and reduction. The World Health Organization (WHO) (2020) pointed out the importance of nurses’ collaboration and mutual support. One of the ways to ensure it is the buddy system (World Health Organization, 2020). The buddy system implies paring up inexperienced nurses with their more experienced colleagues (World Health Organization, 2020, p.3). This way, nurses can share knowledge and rely on their partners when they face problems. American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) (2021) also included this approach in their guidelines and highlighted its potential for burnout prevention and reduction. However, they referred to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) broader definition of the buddy system. It views it as a collaboration of two colleagues monitoring each other’s safety and well-being with no reference to their experience gap (The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health). In any way, the buddy system is an officially acknowledged tool for fighting nurses’ burnout.

These recommendations are supported by several research findings proving the efficiency. Albott et al. (2021) suggested that nurses have partners and conduct 1-10 minutes check-ins at least 2-3 times a week to monitor their state (p.50). The results of their research show that it is easy to implement as it requires no cost and not many resources (Albott et al., 2021, p.53). In Schneider and Schneider’s (2020) study, ICU nurses were paired with less experienced non-ICU nurses. Their study showed an increased level of teamwork and motivation among nurses during the pandemic peak (Schneider and Schneider, 2020, p. 41). Marks et al. (2021) also consider partnering nurses experienced in critical care with those lacking knowledge and skills in this area as an optimal model for rapid professional and psychological preparation of nurses. Thus, according to the American researchers, the buddy system seems a suitable intervention measure for nurses’ psychological support during the coronavirus pandemic.

The buddy system’s effect on nurses’ mental health was also studied in the UK. The model was a part of The Nightingale mental health plan (Greenberg et al., 2020). Greenberg et al. (2020) admitted that they did not manage to conduct full-scale research as planned and did not get significant results, but its outcome still showed positive tendencies. Even if the study was not comprehensive, it is valuable for broadening the geographical and cultural scale of the intervention’s implementation.

The Desired Outcome of the Buddy System’s Implementation into Practice

The desired outcome for the buddy system implementation is the mitigation of nurses’ burnout. According to Kelly et al. (2020) and Molly and Allegra (2021), burnout is one of the most serious mental issues nurses have faced during the pandemic. Moreover, the scholars note that it is the major reason for intensified workforce turnover (Kelly et al., 2020; Molly and Allegra, 2021). Therefore, implementing the buddy system may help overcome nurses’ burnout and decrease their resignations, which would solve the problem of hospital staff shortage after the coronavirus outbreak.

The Rate of the Buddy System’s Implementation

Even though several studies conducted in 2020 showed the efficiency of this approach, some newer articles still demonstrate a high level of mental health issues and professional burnout among nurses. For instance, Greenberg et al.’s study (2021) of the UK healthcare staff showed that ICU personnel suffered from dramatically raised levels of mental health problems during the current pandemic (p.66). According to the scholars, the increased risk was particularly noticeable amongst nurses (p.66). Kelly et al. (2020), who conducted their research in the US, also concluded that burnout persists to be a relevant problem for more than half of nurses (p.99). Thus, some separate studies do not seem to make much difference on a larger scale. Since there is no extensive data on long-term and large-scale implementation of the buddy system, it is impossible to evaluate the extent of the practice implementation accurately.

Possible Barriers to Practical Implementation

As the buddy system seems to be applied in practice too slowly, it is needed to identify possible barriers that hinder its spread and development. Zipperer (2020) noted that during the coronavirus outbreak, nurses lacked time for patients and self-care (para. 9). Therefore, it might be difficult for them to find time to check on their partners. Another barrier for the buddy system implementation can be a cultural one. The studies presented above were all conducted in the US or the UK, and researchers have no data on how cultural differences may affect its application in other countries.

Ways to Overcome the Barriers

While some barriers might be unexpected and manifest only in real practical conditions, the hospital managers may be prepared for the identified ones. For instance, some issues may be solved by combining the buddy system with other helpful approaches. For example, Sun (2021) concluded that time management training also positively affected nurses’ mental health. If nurses receive such training, they would have enough time for self-care, including more communication with their colleagues. As for the potential cultural barrier, one can only overcome it by spreading the research scale.

Resources for the Buddy System Implementation’ Informational Support

If hospital managers and nurse leaders want to learn more about the buddy system or do not know how to implement this model into practice, they can visit healthcare organizations’ websites. For example, the AHRQ website provides relevant information on Coronavirus and its impact and gives references to useful sources, such as research papers and already mentioned AHCA&NCAL tips on improving nurses’ mental health. They also include many other approaches that can be combined with the buddy system to enhance its effect. Moreover, these guidelines might also be useful for nurses as they comprise information on burnout symptoms and links to sources for further reading (AHCA&NCAL, 2021). Overall, the website is a good source of theoretical data on Coronavirus’s impact on nurses’ mental health and general information about methods to overcome it. However, for practical implementation, one would need more research data.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is an extensive amount of studies proving the efficiency of the buddy system for decreasing the level of burnout among nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, there is a lack of comprehensive reports or research papers evaluating the program’s long-term implementation into practice. Moreover, most of this research is restricted to the US, which may become a potential barrier for implementing it in other countries. Another barrier is nurses’ lack of time for self-care, which can be addressed by implementing time management training. The AHRQ also suggests the buddy system as an effective tool for fighting burnout among nurses. The organization’s website also provides valuable information for hospital managers on strategies to support the employees and for the staff to identify burnout symptoms. However, further comprehensive research is necessary for effective worldwide implementation of the buddy system to mitigate the nurses’ burnout.

References

Albott, C. S., Wozniak, J. R., McGlinch, B. P., Wall, M. H., Gold, B. S., & Vinogradov, S. (2020). . Anesthesia and Analgesia, 131(1), 43-54.

American Health Care Association (AHCA) & National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL). (2021). . Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Greenberg, N., Cooke, J., Sullivan, E., & Tracy, D.K. (2020).. BMJ Military Health, 167(2), 1-3.

Greenberg, N., Weston, D., Hall, C., Caulfield, T., Williamson, V., & Fong, K. (2021). . Occupational Medicine, 71, 62–67.

Kelly, L.A., Gee, P. M, & Butler, R. J. (2020). . Nursing Outlook, 69(1), 96-102.

Marks, S., Edwards, S., & Jerge, E.H. (2021). Nurse Lead, 19(2), 165-169.

Molle, E., & Allegra, M. (2021). Nurse Leader, 19(6), 625-629.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). (n.d.).

Schneider, B.C., & Schneider, S.P. (2020).. Nursing Management, 51(10), 36-42.

Sun, L. (2021). . Psychiatria Danubina, 33(4), 626-633.

World Health Organization (WTO). (2020). .

Zipperer, L. (2020).. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Students & Burnout: A Critical Review

Posted on | by Laureen

Burnout, and in particular, teen burnout, has become an issue of fundamental concern as it is positively correlated with negative behavior and emotional outcomes, such as substance abuse, alcoholism, emotional breakdown, depression, fatigue and the proliferation of antisocial behavior.

Perhaps these reasons may have informed the needs of the author of the article “Teen Burnout can be Hard to Spot” to shed more light on the issue of teen burnout by summarily discussing a research study of 770 Finnish students aimed at analyzing how students entering high school exhibit burnout (Barton para. 2).

The topic of teen burnout is of immense importance to educators, parents and other relevant stakeholders, but the author, in my view, has failed to illuminate the topic in a way that could assist all those concerned, particularly educators, parents and students, to deal with it.

Going by the research findings of the Finnish study, the author of this particular article does well to postulate that girls and boys react to school stress in different ways, but he is economical on providing a systematic analysis on these ‘different ways’ he talks about, preferring to use the lame excuse of school pressures as the predominant determinant of teen burnout in school settings.

Indeed, the author associates pressures of school life with cynicism and the development of a negative attitude toward society (Barton para 2). While this may be so, the author fails to outline other dynamics that could equally lead male students to develop cynic behavior and a negative attitude toward society.

A comprehensive discussion of the recently released Finnish study, in my view, would have included what other research articles have said on the topic of teen burnout.

More important, experience demonstrates that teens in high school may experience serious emotional burnout occasioned by minor issues, such as lack of proper time management, lack of interest in the academic discourse, and attitude toward education or instructors.

The inclusion of such information in the article, in my view, could have added important insights into the effective management of teen burnout.

The author, it seems, provides some useful information on teen burnout by illuminating a major research finding, which suggests that “…boys experience a strong crisis concerning a sense of disconnectedness” (Barton para. 3).

This, in my view, is a good point, but only for professional psychologists, psychiatrists and counselors who understand the concepts of ‘crisis’ and ‘disconnectedness.’ To the average parent or educator in school settings, these concepts may be difficult to understand, not mentioning that the author does not make any attempt to expound on the concepts.

Personal experience as well available literature demonstrates that a crisis in life does not necessarily lead to a feeling of loss, confusion or disconnectedness; rather, a crisis may lead to the development of a strong and resilient character and behavior depending on the methodologies that are employed to handle the crisis.

Consequently, it can be argued that the author of the article has engaged in providing half-baked truths of the issue of interest without taking the initiative not only to evaluate the dynamics of the problem but also the cause-effect paradigms.

It is true that a crisis can lead to teen burnout, but equally it can lead to a strong character and reinforced dedication if it is harnessed using the right channels.

As such, the author should have spent more time illuminating the channels that may lead a crisis to turn into a serious emotional burnout, such as lack of adequate information and lack of support services.

The author of the article is at it again by citing a good research finding, which suggests that girls internalize stress hence become susceptible to feelings of inadequacy in school settings, leading to depression (Barton para. 4).

Despite citing this important finding, the author fails to make an impact due to her version of providing inadequate information that may be of little or no consequence to the average stakeholder.

For instance, the author should have taken time to illuminate the fact that stress is not the same as burnout although both oscillate along the same continuum, and that feelings of inadequacy are more likely to lead to stress than to emotional burnout.

Sustained stress is what leads to burnout, and there is a big difference between burnout and depression. As it stands, the author of the article insinuates that depression is synonymous with burnout, which is a wrong representation of the facts.

We are increasingly depressed by every day life experiences, but that does not automatically translate into the fact that we suffer from emotional burnout. Equally, high school students may experience some form of depression arising from the many academic demands set upon them by their instructors, but this does not necessarily translate into burnout.

The original research study found that pressure at school is not always negative, a fact that the author elaborates correctly by citing the researchers’ observation that it is imperative to provide teenagers not only with adequate stimulation to prepare them for the demands of life, but also with the right kind of challenges (Barton para. 6).

This assertion, in my view, can greatly assist parents and stakeholders to mould responsible teenagers with the right kind of stamina and attitude to withstand and conquer the challenges that may eventually lead to emotional burnout.

However, there is inadequacy in argument on the part of the author since she could have mentioned some of the methodologies that could be used to assist teenagers achieve adequate simulation, such as receiving encouragement to think positively, spiritual nourishment, and role-modeling.

Additionally, instructors in school settings should be encouraged to provide the students with reasonable assignments and justifiable time-frames.

Finally, the author reports findings that “…boys and girls on the more competitive academic track were much more likely to suffer from burnout” (Burton para 7). Equally, it was acknowledged “…that the less demanding vocational track offered a more supportive environment than enhance feeling of competence and relatedness” (Burton para. 7).

Although the findings may be correct in their own right, it is generally felt that the author is only engaging in rhetoric since she does not care to provide supporting evidence as well as explain the dynamics behind these associations. The involved stakeholders, in my view, need to be told that competition comes with its consequences, and so does a non-competitive environment.

The onus really should be for the stakeholders, particularly students, parents and instructors, to come up with checks and balances that will provide direction to the learning discourses in school settings and ensure that no single approach leads to negative ramifications.

For instance, students engaged in competitive class environments may be encouraged to join support groups and the many sports activities available in school so that they have effective channels to vent out their stress and frustrations. This type of information, other than merely describing facts, is what is needed to ensure that students adequately deal with burnout.

Works Cited

Barton, Adriana. “Teen Burnout can be Hard to Spot.” Globe and Mail. 2012. Web.

Work Burnout Intervention in the Hospitality Industry

Posted on | by Laureen
  1. Burnout Prevention Program
  2. Rotational work structures
  3. References

The hospitality industry is one of the most fast growing industries in the world. With the fast growth, its rate of competitiveness has skyrocketed with new strategies, styles, and approaches being developed to appease customers. In the hassle of maintaining competitiveness, employees in the industry face work burnouts.

For example, rapid changes in the coffee world leave Starbucks employees with the burden of coming up with new products to meet customer demands.

The burnouts result from internal pressures and pressures they succumb to from the external environment. Burnout in the industry is the result of a build up of anxiety and stress that last for long periods of time; and sometimes the stress and anxiety may be build within a short period of time, especially in the peak seasons.

In the changing environments, human resources managers/theorists have developed new intervention methods to deal with effects of burnouts in organizations (Bullen & Eyler, 2010). For example, the recent terror attacks in the United States have left employees of companies like Ford with much anxiety of their future in their jobs. The following are two main approaches, their pros and cons.

Burnout Prevention Program

When using this program, the management over and above human resource programs in their company adopt another program, burnout prevention program.

The program aims at establishing stress or any dissatisfaction in the company at its minimal stage. Stress and anxiety related to work are among the new phenomenon of modern jobs; there has been a change from what used to be injury from hard physical work, to psychological stress and mental disturbances.

Although different factors contribute to the psychological stress and mental disturbances, the net result is a work burnout. Jobs have shifted from physical to more psychological and mind involving; what is rather disturbing is that the more mind focused a piece of work is the more physically tired someone feels. (DiStefano & Maznevski, 2000).

Advantages of the method

  1. The method has the strength of establishing the challenges that an employee is going through and making an intervention at the most appropriate stage.
  2. Though the method is ongoing in an organization, it is seen as a normal way of human capital management, thus employees don’t feel as if they are spied out.
  3. The management gets the chance to manage chances of low performance and poor service arising from burnout programs.

Disadvantages of the method

The method has one major disadvantage which is the human resources managers will need to keep monitoring the progress of employees almost at their every move. This creates an environment where people get concerned about others limiting the growth of a good working environment. Professional or work related stress poses a threat to employee’s psychological and physical health, however when someone has gotten burnouts from other areas outside the working environment, it may be very challenging.

Rotational work structures

Under this method, the hospitality company engages in compulsory rotational working environment with staffs. Staffs are expected not to work in one area for a long period of time, but are rotated to undertake tasks in different segments. When doing this, the management ensures that an employee does not work in one area alone, but allowed to work in different segments on a rotational basis.

The rational of this method is to ensure that an employee does not work continuously in a stressful environment. For instance, in the event that the waiter post is the most challenging, stressing, and has much of anxiety building, an employee is transferred to another area. With this employees will learn different functions and avoid instances of fatigue and stress building.

Advantages of the approach

  1. Under this approach, employees learn different segments and what they entail, this makes them all rounded employees which is beneficial for the company.
  2. When employees are changing positions, it is likely that they will learn and utilize their strengths and talents in a certain area. When this is happening, there is a high possibility of better human resources utilization.
  3. Stress among employees is managed at the point of developing; this makes the employees more willing to attain the corporate goals and objectives.

Disadvantages

  1. The method is likely to discourage employees from specialization; when employees learn one thing then the next one, they are likely not to specialize in one area for higher efficiency. Specialisation offers high efficiency among employees.
  2. When an employee is moving from a “stress-free” area to another area of stress, they are likely to feel discouraged thus increasing chances of de-motivation and hatred of a particular area
  3. The method assumes that the perceived stressing area will be seen as stressing to all people (Fernandez-Alles & Ramos-Rodríguez, 2009).

Recommendation for best method: Adoption of psychological stress theory in line with strategic human resources management

Hospitality organizations should use psychological stress theory to manage their staff’s chances of burnout; the theory comprises of two concepts which include appraisal and coping.

Appraisal refers to evaluating what is happening to a person’s life in terms of well being, and coping involves efforts of thoughts and actions that a person doest to manage specific demands; this should be done in line with other strategic management approaches to ensure that staffs are well understood not only from what they are going through but also the effect its likely to have on their performance.

Although the Lazarus theory has undergone many revisions, the latest version regards stress as a relational concept; the bottom line is that noting changes among staffs that can lead to burnouts, stress, or anxiety. To understand the relationship between an individual and the environment they are cognitive appraisal and coping processes that will serve as mediators; the appraisal concept was introduced by Arnold (1960) and it forms a key factor of understanding the concept of stress.

The method has been advanced to look into anxiety, depression, and chances of burnout among employees. The concept is based on the fact that emotional processes such as stress depend on what an individual expects with regard to specific encounters or challenges. This explains the difference in every individual on how quality and intensity are translated. Lazarus distinguished forms of appraisal into two parts, this include primary and secondary appraisal.

Work related stress does not only affect individual performance, but consequently affects the general performance of an organization. Current tough economic trends have worsened the level of stress in every workplace regardless of the profession, seniority or salary scale. Rice, (2007) argues out that each day employees are facing different types of pressure in their work making the more fizzled and burnout.

Having a little stress at work is normal, excessive of it becomes destructive and interferes with a person’s productivity. Finding ways to manage stress at work does not involve changing carriers or making huge changes in the workplace, stress management only requires a person’s attention (Landsbergis, 2006).

References

Bullen, M. L., & Eyler, K. (2010). Human resource accounting and international developments: implications for measurement of human capital. Journal of International Business & Cultural Studies, 31-16.

DiStefano, J. J., & Maznevski, M. L. (2000). Creating Value with Diverse Teams in Global Management. Organizational Dynamics, 29(1), 45-63.

Fernandez-Alles, M., & Ramos-Rodríguez, A. (2009). Intellectual structure of human resources management research: A bibliometric analysis of the journal Human Resource Management, 1985–2005. Journal of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 60(1), 161-175.

Landsbergis, A.P. (2006). Interventions to Reduce Job Stress and Improve Work Organization and Worker Health. New York: Free Press