Nurses’ Burnout (Research, Video 1:43)

Burnout among nurses can be costly, not only for nurses personally, but also in terms of litigation, staff turnover, and risks to patient care. While many nurses love their jobs, when frustration becomes overwhelming, burnout can set in. A University of Pennsylvania study of 95,499 nurses revealed that the highest job dissatisfaction was among nurses who worked directly with patients in hospitals and nursing homes.

One irony is that a major concern of nurses is healthcare benefits, which are less than other white-collar workers. Satisfaction levels of patients in hospitals are lowered when there are more dissatisfied or burned out nurses working among them. This can also negatively impact the quality of care patients receive. There is no one easy solution to the problem of nurses’ burnout. Various job issues have to be addressed.

At personal levels, nurses can benefit from the caregiving of others while they serve as caregivers themselves. Ohio State University Medical Center has started the Stress, Trauma and Resilience (STAR) program to do just that. Nurses and other healthcare providers receive support, particularly on reducing stress, crisis management, and peer counseling. This video describes the program:

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback at many booksellers and in e-book form at Amazon and Barnes and Noble booksellers.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog