Nurse Burnout Related to Scheduling, Stress, and Job Satisfaction

Many negative results stem from nurse burnout. The greatest of these negative results can be seen in patient mortality rates. There is a correlation between poorly staffed nursing shifts and nursing burnout. A study which examined “197,961 admissions and 176,696 nursing shifts of 8 hours each in 43 hospital units to examine the association between mortality and patient exposure to nursing shifts during which staffing by RNs was 8 hours or more below target” (Needleman et al., 2011, p. 1037). The researchers found a strong connection “between increased mortality and unit shifts during which staffing by RNs was 8 hours or more below the target level (hazard ratio per shift 8 hours or more below target, 1.02; 95% confidence interval > 1.01 to 1.03; P <0.001)” (Needleman et al., 2011, p. 1037). The “risk of death increased by 2% for each below target shift and 4% for each high turnover shift to which a patient was exposed” (Needleman et al., 2011, p. 1043).
Nurses are also more than “three times more likely to make an error if they worked more than 12.5 hours” (Purcell et al., 2011, p.716). Another negative outcome of nurse burnout relates to the cost of replacing a burned out nurse who has resigned from their position. It can cost hospitals more than $12,000 to replace a nurse (Purcell et al., 2011). Additionally, nurse burnout can affect patient satisfaction levels. A nurse’s level of burnout, which can affect patient satisfaction, is correlated to their desire to quit their job. Patients who were cared for by nurses with low levels of burnout conveyed the highest gratification evaluations (Brooks et al., 2010). When nurses are exhausted and plan to quit their current job, patient’s satisfaction levels decrease (Brooks et al., ...

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...ave lives-Better outcomes and more RNs. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://nurses.3cdn.net/f0da47b347e41bb03a_z1m6vl1sd.pdf.
Needleman, J., Buerhaus, P., Pankratz, S., Leibson, C., Stevens, S.R., & Harris, M. (2011). Nurse staffing and inpatient hospital mortality. New England Journal of Medicine, 364, 1037-1045.
Purcell, S.R., Kutash, M., & Cobb, S. (2011). The relationship between nurses’ stress and nurse staffing factors in a hospital setting. Journal of Nursing Management, 19, 714-720.
Stimpfel, A.W., Sloane, D.M., & Aiken, L.H. (2012). The longer the shifts for hospital nurse the higher the levels of burnout and patient dissatisfaction. Health Affairs, 31(11), 2501-2509.
Zimmerman, C. & Ward-Smith, P. (2012). Attrition of new graduate RN: Why nurses are leaving the profession. Retrieved from http://mlppubsonline.com/display_article.php?id=1094500.