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Analyzing Nurse Burnout as a Current Issue in Healthcare

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Analyzing Nurse Burnout as a Current Issue in Healthcare

Introduction

For ages, burnout has been identified as the major problem facing most nurses locally and across

the world. The emotional, mental and physical exhaustion that nurses are exposed to in their

respective places of work could adversely affect their ability to achieve maximum professional

potential. Nurses who go through extreme levels of burnout are cut off from the reality of the

profession. This paper aims to break down burnout, its elements, offer attainable results in

accordance with present-day studies and publications and application of possible solutions.

Elements of the Issue

Shakori, Vokhlacheva & Farzanehkari (2018) illustrates the major elements associated with

nurse burnout. These dimensions include depersonalization, a state of emotionally worn-out and

poor professional self-assessment. Emotional exhaustion or worn-out refers to a state of being

overworked or overextension as a result of work demands. Depersonalization refers to a state

where a nurse cannot show empathy to a patient during practice. Reduced personal

accomplishment is the tendency of where a professional nurse evaluates self-work negatively

(Ríos-Risquez & García-Izquierdo, 2016). For a person to be diagnosed with burnout, he/she

must show all three elements. Burnout is a huge issue that affects the majority of professional

workers in different areas. However, nurses e burnout more, mainly because of the nature of their

work and the working environment.

Analysis of the Nurse Burnout

Many evidence-based interventions from research have proven futile since a compelling

number of nurses get affected by burnout. Every day is a nightmare to a nurse experiencing

emotional, physical and mental exhaustion. For a long time, multiple factors (some unavoidable)

have been associated with burnout. The inadequate nursing staff is a major cause of physical and

mental.

Exhaustion. According to (Ríos-Risquez & García-Izquierdo, 2016), an increase in the number

of patients, especially the elderly, who requires much attention and needs frequent monitoring,

has brought the issue of nurse shortage in most healthcare institutions. Due to this, hospitals tend

to increase the working hours of a shift for nurses to curb the issue of nurse shortage.

Apart from fatigue, exposure to long working hours is a recipe for making errors due to

weariness. Additionally, nurse burnout occurs due to other factors, which include stressful and

unconducive working environments, dealing with critical sicknesses, death, patient turnover, lack

of clarity about a job, and overload. Moreover, burnout among nurses is caused by dysfunctional

workplace dynamics. Notably, the factors are likely to occur singly or as a combined.

Burnout has resulted in many negative results that affect not only the nurses but also the patient.

When a nurse is exhausted, their productivity rate reduces, and some even end up engaging in

activities such as alcohol and drug abuse. Burnout has resulted in losses in many health care

organizations, a lot of resources and manpower in terms of nurse recruitments and retention,

increased employee unpunctuality, reduced discharge of work and nonattendance. (Henry, 2014).

Many nurses neglected nursing practice and walked out of the profession as a result of

burnout. The nursing practitioners get exhausted by the nature of their working environment and

end up not persevering anymore. Lack of mitigation strategies to address the issue and its causes

indicates that more people will leave the profession.

Considering options

A number of interventions have come up that could assist nurses and healthcare

institutions can use in order to address the issue of burnout. The interventions chosen to prevent

burnout should mainly focus on the factors that cause burnout. Three are various evidence-based

interventions that institutions should consider in their effort to prevent burnout. These

interventions include expressive working conditions, onsite and off-site retreats and assistance

programs. The assistance programs include mindful based programs to reduce stress and

promote relaxation.

Additionally, there should be mentoring programs mainly designed to offer the junior

nurses that are joining nursing practice (Ahola, Toppinen-Tanner & Seppänen, 2017). The most

effective intervention that would reduce nurse burnout is the use of a cultural change toolkit. The

toolkit includes certain recommendations that relate to support, leadership involvement, decision

making and meaningful recognition. Moreover, nurse practitioners are argued to involve in

conversations and dialogues with other people when the pressure is too much. They should be

more social with their coworkers, avoid the company of negative people, make new friends and

connections to a group or community that are significant to them. The paper makes the cultural

change toolkit the most appropriate evidence-based intervention that could solve the problem of

burnout.

Implementation

Implementation of the cultural change toolkit requires the cohesion of all the departments

in an institution. Notable burnout is an issue that cut across all the teams and care practitioners.

Also, success rate and resource utilization are critical.

Ethical Implications of Implementing the Cultural Change Toolkit

Ethical Implications of Implementing the Cultural Change Toolkit

In nursing, burnout presents many ethical implications. Notably, a worn-out nurse cannot

undertake his duties well and provide quality care to the patients. Psychologically, burnout is

likely to cause distress. In this scenario, a nurse is aware of what he is supposed to do but fails to

undertake obligations due to various constraints. Burnout causes nurses to lack motivation, and

as a result, they are unable to advocate for the patients' wellbeing.

Consequently, they fail to promote the ethical principles of fidelity, justice, non-maleficence,

beneficence and autonomy. Implementation of the cultural change toolkit health institutions will

have a chance to resolve the issue (Westermann, Kozak, Harling & Nienhaus, 2014). The tool

has numerous case studies that an institution could use. It promotes shared decision making,

recognition strategies and improved communication as a way of tackling healthcare issues

(Adams, A., Hollingsworth & Osman, 2019).

Conclusion

Nurse burnout is a critical issue in healthcare that affects the professional potential of nurses,

undermining nurse practice. The problem may result in poor performance. Various factors

contribute to burnout, including demanding workloads and aspects of the working environment.

The major element of burnout includes depersonalization, reduced personal accomplishment and

emotional exhaustion. Moreover, the paper has addressed various interventions that the

administrators can adopt to resolve the problem. Notable, the cultural change tool is the most

appropriate tool used by health institutions to reduce burnout among nurses and increase their

quality productivity.
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References

Ahola, K., Toppinen-Tanner, S., & Seppänen, J. (2017). Interventions to alleviate burnout

symptoms and support a return to work among employees with burnout: Systematic

review and meta-analysis. Burnout Research, 4, 1-11. doi:10.1016/j.burn.2017.02.001

Adams, A., Hollingsworth, A., & Osman, A. (2019). The Implementation of a Cultural Change

Toolkit to Reduce Nursing Burnout and Mitigate Nurse Turnover in the Emergency

Department. Journal of Emergency Nursing. doi:10.1016/j.jen.2019.03.004

Henry, B. J. (2014). Nursing Burnout Interventions. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing,

18(2), 211-214. doi:10.1188/14.cjon.211-214

Ríos-Risquez, M. I., & García-Izquierdo, M. (2016). Patient satisfaction, stress and burnout in

nursing personnel in emergency departments: A cross-sectional study. International

Journal of Nursing Studies, 59, 60-67. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2016.02.008

Vokhlacheva, A., Shakori, A., & Farzanehkari, P. (2018). Prevention of burnout among nursing

staff: A literature review. Retrieved from https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/140886

Westermann, C., Kozak, A., Harling, M., & Nienhaus, A. (2014). Burnout intervention studies

for inpatient elderly care nursing staff: Systematic literature review. International Journal

of Nursing Studies, 51(1), 63-71. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2012.12.001