Nurse Burnout and HAIs: A Solution to a Common Problem
Posted on by
Author – Jeannie P. Cimiotti, DNSc, RN
Executive Director, NJ Collaborating Center for Nursing;
Associate Professor, Rutgers University College of Nursing
Job-related burnout has been well-documented among individuals who provide care to others. The etiology of burnout points to chronic stress that results not only from the close interaction with people, but with the organizational climate in which people work. One organizational area that has been extensively identified as a contributing factor to this complex syndrome is workload.
Historically, nurses provide care under less than desirable circumstances. Often overworked and under appreciated, nurses are the only professionals who are in constant contact with patients, and they deal with life and death issues on a daily basis. It’s not surprising then that our survey of nurses in Pennsylvania showed that more than a third reported high levels of emotional exhaustion, a key component of burnout syndrome. We must ask ourselves, what happens when nurses suffer from high emotional exhaustion? It’s simple – they begin to feel like they lack control. Then, they psychologically and cognitively detach from the care environment. The result is less than optimal nursing care.
Nurse workload has been linked to patient infections, yet, the mechanism has not been clear. We know that good organizational climate can lead to fewer adverse patient outcomes, despite less than optimal nurse staffing. We also know that improved workload and good organizational climate can reduce job-related burnout.
We now have promising evidence that links nurse burnout to catheter-associated urinary tract (CAUTI) and surgical site infections (SSI). In our study of Pennsylvania hospitals published in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), we found that increasing a nurse’s workload by one patient was associated with increases in both CAUTI and SSI. Each 10 percent increase in a hospital’s high-burnout nurses corresponded with nearly one additional CAUTI and two additional SSIs per 1,000 patients annually. We suggest that if nurse burnout rates could be reduced to 10 percent from an average of 30 percent, Pennsylvania hospitals could prevent roughly 4,160 infections annually with an associated savings of $41 million.
Reducing burnout rates of nurses is a win-win. By reducing nurse workload we can protect our nurses from burnout and we may be protecting patients from infections.
Dr. Jeannie P. Cimiotti is associate professor in the College of Nursing at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in Newark. She also directs the New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing, the nurse workforce center in New Jersey. Her research interests include nurse workforce issues and the quality of patient care. Dr. Cimiotti has presented her research findings internationally and her work appears in a variety of peer-reviewed journals.
One comment on “Nurse Burnout and HAIs: A Solution to a Common Problem”
Comments listed below are posted by individuals not associated with CDC, unless otherwise stated. These comments do not represent the official views of CDC, and CDC does not guarantee that any information posted by individuals on this site is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. Read more about our comment policy ».
Comments are closed.
In a recent national study by RNCareers.org of the thousands of nurse participants, a staggering 95% reported feeling burnt out in their position. Following, 47.9% reported that they are either actively searching for a less stressful position, wanting to leave the profession altogether, or have already done so within the past three years.
Where are nurses most affected. Although burnout is everywhere throughout the healthcare professions, there are several nursing specialties that are likely to experience burnout more than others. These include emergency room (ER), intensive care unit (ICU), and oncology, as they are usually the most emotionally and physically tolling.
Nursing Burnout and Self Care for nurses are important issues that need more attention placed on them.
It is a terribly vicious cycle as low staffing rates lead to increased workload demands for those still working in the field. Both physical and emotional exhaustion then come into play as time continues to pass, which inevitably raises the risk of burnout; resulting in nurses then leaving the profession.