Nursing Burnout
Mercado, Rian
Mercado, Rian
Citations
Altmetric:
Soloist
Composer
Publisher
Date
2025-05-19
Additional date(s)
Abstract
Burnout is a critical issue in nursing, particularly in high-stress environments such as intensive care units (ICUs). Professional burnout, defined by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal accomplishment, has emerged as a critical issue within the nursing profession. Existing research has focused on the prevalence of burnout in nursing, but there remains a gap in understanding how different clinical settings, especially high- stress areas like ICUs, contribute to these outcomes. This study uses the Holistic Nursing Theory, which emphasizes the importance of self-care and reflection for nurses, to explore how burnout may affect nurses' ability to deliver holistic care. The primary research question was: How does burnout in ICU nurses compare to non-ICU nursing roles? The outcomes of this project will help to identify and understand the unique stressors and challenges faced by ICU nurses which will help nurses plan strategies to address burnout in these high-stress settings, reduce burnout rates, improve nurse well-being, and enhance overall patient care outcomes. Participants were recruited by sending out a flyer through email to nursing faculty, graduate students, and through a private Facebook group. The survey was conducted from December 7, 2024, to January 31, 2025, gathered 70 responses, of which 55 were fully completed and analyzed. The majority of the responses were from critical care nurses (39 ICU and 16 non-ICU nurses). Based on the MBI tool both ICU and Non-ICU nurses experienced moderate levels of burnout in all areas addressed: emotion exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal achievement. This mixed methods study provided a comprehensive understanding of burnout levels in a sample of critical care and non-critical care nurses. Implications for practice highlight the need to address ways to improve nursing practice to reduce stresses that contribute to burnout.