Burnout among Critical Care Nurses

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The topic of burnout among critical care nurses is a topic of great importance in today’s health care. This essay examines the article written by Arnold M. Bakker, Pascale M. Le Blanc and Wilmar B. Schaufeli, “Burnout Contagion Among Intensive Care Nurses,” published in The Journal of Advanced Nursing. This article reports on burnout in critical care nurses. The authors are presenting their data which has an impact on society in general and directly affects the workforce providing health care. The authors present evidence in their paper which contradicts previous studies of the subject. The purpose of this rhetorical essay is to evaluate whether the reader is convinced by the authors’ argument to accept the claim that burnout among critical care nurses is due to contagion, rather than previously given reasons. The authors’ formal writing style and presentation of study results helps to increase the readers understanding of the claim. The authors make a convincing argument that contagion warrants attention in the healthcare field to address registered nurse (RN) retention.
Bakker, Le Blanc and Schaufeli begin by explicitly defining burnout and the characteristics of burnout (277). The claim the authors make is that burnout among critical care nurses is due to contagion, i.e., communicated from one nurse to another, rather than reasons presented in previous studies of the subject. The authors present the previously stated reasons for critical care nurse burnout: excessive workload, high patient care demands, time constraints and intensive use of sophisticated technology. The authors’ warrant is explicitly stated by their presentation of statistical evidence obtained from a large study of nurse interviews. Bakker, Le Blan...

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...that should receive immediate attention. The growing health care industry must direct its attention to RN retention in general but especially in critical care units. The authors have provided sufficient evidence to state their claim. Through the use of multiple rhetorical tools the writers have presented a logical analysis to their theory and engaged the audience. The logical presentation of their data helps to present the issue in a very clear format. By stating that there are other logical reasons for burnout among critical care RNs and that there are limitations to their study, it gives credibility to the authors and does not paint the picture that the authors are all knowing.

Works Cited

Bakker, Arnold B., Pascale M. Blanc, and Wilmar B. Schaufeli. “Burnout Contagion Among Intensive Care Nurses.” Journal of Advanced Nursing 51.3 (2005): 276-288. Print.

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