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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 both 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 generally are cut off

from the reality of the profession. The aim of this paper is to breakdown on burnout, its elements,

offer attainable results in accordance with present-day studies and publications and the

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

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

where a nurse lacks the ability to 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 an individual person to be diagnosed with

burnout, he/she must show all the three elements. Burnout is a huge issue that affect majority of

professional workers in different areas. However, nurses experiences burnout more, mainly

because of the nature of their work and the working environment.

Analysis of the Nurse Burnout

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A lot of 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 to burnout. 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 working hours of a shift for nurses to carb the issue of nurse shortage.

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

weariness. Additionally, nurse burnout occurs as a result of other factors which include stressful

and unconducive working environments, dealing with critical sicknesses, death, and patient turn

over, lack of clarity about a job and overload. Moreover, burnout among nurse is caused by

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

combined.

Burn out has resulted to many negative results that not only affects the nurses but also the

patient. When a nurse is exhausted, their rate of productivity reduces and some even end up

engaging in activities such as alcohol and drug abuse. Evidently, burnout has resulted to losses in

many health care organizations a lot of resources as well as man power in terms of nurse

recruitments and retention, increases employee unpunctuality, reduced discharge of work and

nonattendance. (Henry, 2014).

Many nurses as 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
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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 has come up that could assist nurses and healthcare

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

burn out should mainly focuses 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 offers

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 recommendation that relates 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 the coworkers, avoid the company of negative people,

make new friends and connections to group or community that are significant to oneself. The

paper makes the cultural change toolkit as the most appropriate evidence based intervention that

could solve the problem of burn out.

Implementation

Implementation of the cultural change toolkit requires cohesion of all the department 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.

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Ethical Implications of Implementing the Cultural Change Toolkit

Ethical Implications of Implementing the Cultural Change Toolkit

In nursing, burnout present many ethical implications. Notably, a worn out nurse is unable to

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

likely to cause distress. In this scenario, a nurse is aware of the things that 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,

the 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 tacking 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 to poor performance. There are various

factors that contribute to burnout and they include demanding workloads as well as aspects of the

working environment. The major element of burnout include 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 toll that can be used by health institutions to reduced 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 to support 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