Causes of Nurse Burnout and Prevention Measures
Nurse burnout is an issue that has greatly increased in recent years and it is negatively impacting on provision of effective health care services. The work of nurses has continued to expand from the wardrooms, to the waiting rooms all the way to the boardrooms (Li et al., 2014). Nurses are on the frontline when it comes to direct medical care, health education for others, patient needs and also comforting patients and their families. Maintaining high quality care for nurses means taking time to become familiar with the patient and their families. This means that one has to make time for emotional conversations which greatly adds to psychological responsibilities for the nurse (Li et al., 2014). All this greatly contribute to stress for the nurses as they have to deal with chaotic shifts and attentive care all at the same time and thus resulting to nurse burnout. This paper analyses the research study conducted by Li, Guan, Chang & Zhang, (2014).
Purpose and Theoretical Framework
The objective of this research was to try and define the probable relationship of coreself-assessment, and the burnout pattern amongst nurse practitioners and some of the intermediating roles that managing styles used play in helping deal with the issue (Li et al., 2014).The authors references the Masclach theory on burnout, which argues that burnout is an extended reaction to prolonged interactive stressors on the job (Maslach et al., 1996). In the modern fiscal catastrophe and the pressures to stabilize financial plan with less fiscal assets add added burden on the nursing workforces because of lack of enough personnel which lead to overworking (Li et al., 2014). The authors further illustrate that usage of new expertise in the medical sector has brought in more challenges in regard to nurses obtaining new information and understanding new skills. Nurses are some of the professionals that are exposed to work stress which prime to negative effects on their psychological health and well-being (Li et al., 2014).
Methodology
The study was steered through the use of a cross-sectional study which was directed in Sheyang China in the year 2013. The participants of this research were nominated from five different hospitals where they were all required to be registered nurses, 1,995 clinical nurses were recruited for the study (Li et al., 2014). The study did not include head nurses and administrators because these are the people that are supposed to ensure that nurses have a conducive working environment to avoid nurse burnouts. For data collection, the study used anonymous questionnaires that were distributed to the nurses and later collected in staff gatherings in all the selected hospitals by the third scholars within a four week period (Li et al., 2014).
The instruments used in the survey consisted of (MBI-GS) Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey which is a fifteen item character- report ration of job burnout. It comprises three main magnitudes; emotional fatigue, scepticism and professional effectiveness all which are recorded on a Likert scale from 0-6 that is never to everyday respectively (Li et al., 2014). A high emotional score and combined with low professional efficacy was an indication of high level burnout. MBI-GS has previously been used effectively in other studies which help to show its consistency and cogency in this research (Li et al., 2014). The alpha coefficient for the three magnitudes of MBI-GS was 0.896, 0.747 and 0.825 correspondingly in the research (Li et al., 2014).
The second implement utilized in the research was core self-evaluation scale (CSE). This is a twelve item personality- report evaluation where items are evaluated from 1-5 that is powerfully differ to powerfully approve respectively. The use of CSE was effective and can be termed to be reliable and valid because it has formerly been utilized in Chinese populace. The alpha number for CSE in this study was 0.745 (Li et al., 2014).
The other implement utilized for this study was (SCSQ) Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire. It is a twenty items, character-report that comprises two proportions; the first one is active coping that includes twelve items and the other one is passive coping that includes 8 items. The matters were evaluated using a four point Likert scale of 0-3 that is not once to very frequently respectively. This is an instrument that is commonly used in other studies effectively which proves its reliability and validity. The alpha coefficient for the two dimensions of SCSQ in this study was 0.796 and 0.728 respectively (Li et al., 2014).
Demographic data sheet was the other implement utilized in the research. All the data of the participants that included; gender where the male nurses were 60, while the female were 1,499, age where the participants were between the ages of 30 and 40 years, work experience, educational level and profession rank were all acquired from a controlled questionnaire (Li et al., 2014). The education level was structured as high school with 13.7%, junior college with the highest participants at 53.9% and undergraduate or above with 32.5%. The profession rank was categorised as subordinate nurse 48.5%, senior nurse 34.2%, and supervisory nurse 17.3% (Li et al., 2014).
The dissemination of burnout in definite demographic individualities was verified by one-way ANOVA. Pearson correlation was completed to assess the association amid the (CSE) core-self-evaluation, managing styles and burnout (Li et al., 2014). The researchers used the Pearson correlation and one ranked linear regression examination for all the three burnout scopes individually to test for intervening influence. During the first phase of the ranked linear regression evaluations, the regulator variables and the affirmative outcomes of adjustment exploration were supplemented into the model. Gender, age, education level, job rank and work experience were included in the model acting as prospective confounders (Li et al., 2014).
The fact that the level of educational and rank of the job is definite variables that do not have linear tendency; replica variables for the two were established. In the level of educational, high school level was established as the orientation cluster while in rank of profession; subordinate nurse was established as the orientation group. During the second phase, core self-evaluation (CSE) was supplemented while in the third phase both active and passive managing styles were supplemented (Li et al., 2014). 1,662 questionnaires were returned where 103 of them were discarded as a result of incomplete data (Li et al., 2014). This study hence analysed and used 1,559 questionnaires which were fully completed.
Major findings
This study demonstrates that core self-evaluation (CSE) is a cohesive character variable that can distress occupation burnout (Li et al., 2014). It similarly demonstrates that managing categories have both undeviating and incidental consequence on burnout (Li et al., 2014). The data collected from this research suggests that the strategies that promote active coping styles for nurses can greatly aid to moderate job burnout and thus augment nursing effectiveness. CSE is a forecaster of job burnout; this is proved by the facts in the study, which indicates that nurses that have high CSE scores have less emotional exhaustions, cynicism and higher professional efficacy. The people who have high CSE scores always tend to have high personal confidence and admiration, and also a more prenominal grace (Li et al., 2014).
The positive factors that relate to prevention of nurse burnouts for example, active coping, social support and hardiness are the most important buffering factors. This study demonstrates that active managing was destructively linked with emotive fatigue, and scepticism. Active coping was also confidently related with specialized effectiveness. The outcomes of this study bring about the awareness that managing styles have a considerable consequence on burnout, and active managing may be a constructive reserve for contesting burnout (Li et al., 2014).
This study illustrates that, beginner nurses have more burnout experiences than their older co-workers. This indicates that amplified life involvement aids one to become more confident in their work, meaning there is reduced use of passive coping styles and there is reduced burnout (Li et al., 2014). Managing strategies that are dysfunctional by nurses lead to poor nurse patient associations and disappointments, and this leads to a gradual lack of individual achievement. The nurses that consequently deal with chronic illnesses, demise and other major circumstances while working tend to cultivate emotionally adverse features and outlooks of emotional fatigue (Li et al., 2014). When there are no operational resources approved to handle the fatigue, it clues to scepticism and condensed expert efficiency. When an efficacious managing style is assumed in this case active managing, nurses have the capability to attain their objectives and their specialized efficiency advances (Li et al., 2014). An enthusiastic coping approach can accrue in nurses effectively using problem solving skills to manage the problems they are faced with, and to effectively decrease their stress points.
One way to deal with nurse burnout is to provide problem solving skills training; this will help the nurses to progress and engagement in active managing styles to handle the stress that they face while they are working (Li et al., 2014). The training would greatly improve on the health and well-being of the nurses, which will lessen nurse burnout hence improving the quality of healthcare.
Strengths of the research
This study is consistent and precise, which makes it very easy to evaluate. The researchers effectively compare their findings with past studies conducted on the same issue, this greatly help the findings of this study to be reliable. The study participants are analysed using an array of demographics for instance; age, sex, educational level and job rank. This helps to effectively show the demographics that are more affected by the issue of nurse burnouts and thus make it easier to come up with effective remedies to the issue.
Weaknesses of the study
The research was directed in large general hospitals. This means that it does not categorically reveal the burnout felt by nurses in diverse medical institutions, and public well-being centres. The second limitation to this study is that it relied mainly on self-report measure which encourages the issue of bias as some of the data may have been fabricated. Future studies should try and include more objective parameters for instance behavioural, and psychological indicators. They should also take account of wider prompting aspects and offer more intuitive understanding in respect to inter-associations between self- assessments, managing styles and burnout for nurses.
References
Li, X., Guan, L., Chang, H., & Zhang, B. (2014, December 26). Core self-evaluation and
burnout among Nurses: The mediating role of coping styles. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4277418/#pone.0115799-Garrosa1
Maslach, C., Jackson, S. E., & Leiter, M. P. (1996). Maslach Burnout Inventory. (3rd ed.).
Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press
