Prevalence of and factors linked to nurse burnout

Editor's Note

This study by researchers from Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, finds that with increasing demands placed on frontline nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare systems should implement strategies to alleviate burnout, including adequate staffing and limiting the number of hours worked per shift.

Of more than 3.9 million nurses responding in the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses, 31.5% reported burnout as a reason for leaving their jobs, and those who identified burnout as a reason were more likely to work more than 40 hours/week.

Respondents who reported leaving or considering leaving their jobs because of burnout said a stressful work environment (68.6% and 59.5%, respectively) and inadequate staffing (63.0% and 60.9%, respectively) were the reasons.

The findings suggest that burnout is a significant problem for US nurses, and that there is an urgent need for solutions to address this problem, the authors say.