Survey: Understaffing, paperwork burning out nurses, physicians

Editor's Note

A recent Health Day-Harris Poll online survey finds that 63% of nurse and physician respondents are experiencing moderate or severe burnout at work, the February 23 Health Day News reports.

Other findings include:

• 66% of physicians and 75% of nurses cite understaffing as the main contributor to burnout
• 58% of physicians and 51% of nurses say the amount of paperwork is the second biggest contributor to burnout
• 38% of physicians and 20% of nurses cite communicating with insurance companies as a source of burnout.

The survey also shows that physicians and nurses are taking steps to manage their burnout with coping strategies, such as exercise, counseling, maintaining friendships outside of medicine, setting boundaries around work, and talking things out with a significant other.