Effects of nurse burnout on patient safety, satisfaction

Nurse burnout harms patient safety efforts

Notably, the researchers found that nurse burnout rates affect patient safety.

For example, nurses experiencing burnout were more likely to report a poor safety climate or culture, the researchers said. Additionally, experiences of nurse burnout were linked to poorer safety grades in healthcare settings, somewhat higher rates of hospital-acquired infections, higher rates of patient falls, more medication errors, more pressure ulcers and overall more adverse events.

These findings were unsurprising, considering how burnout is characterized. Nurses who are emotionally exhausted or experiencing depersonalization at work might be more likely to be involved in a medical error or adverse event, the researchers posited.

Notably, factors like educational attainment among nurses moderated patient safety issues. Having a bachelor's degree lessened the negative impact burnout had on patient safety, while having a graduate degree had the same effect on clinical quality. These findings indicate that supporting more nurse education and training could help mitigate burnout.

Patients feel the effects of nurse burnout, too, the report added. Overall, nurse burnout was moderately linked with lower patient satisfaction ratings. This finding is noteworthy, considering the role patient satisfaction and loyalty play in an industry increasingly defined by consumerism.

What to do about nurse burnout?

It is clear that the U.S. healthcare industry needs to tackle nurse burnout, the authors asserted. But how?

Indeed, clinician burnout is a problem that will define healthcare for decades, as the U.S. grapples with worker shortages and contends with the aftermath of a once-in-a-generation pandemic. But some strategies have shown promise, the researchers said.

Providing more training and support, as outlined above, could help nurses feel more empowered in their jobs and equip them with the skills necessary to offset feelings of burnout.

While there have been some individual-level efforts to address burnout, such as mindfulness classes or personal resilience training, the researchers suggested that organization-level interventions have been more effective. For example, hospital and health systems that foster more teamwork, community, professional development and recognition tend to move the needle on burnout.

Organizational strategies, especially around nurse staffing ratios, have also shown promise in reducing burnout levels.

"Allocation of even more substantive funding, commensurate with the magnitude and adverse effects of health worker burnout, seems necessary to support research and implementation of evidence-based approaches to reduce clinician burnout," the researchers concluded.

Sara Heath has covered news related to patient engagement and health equity since 2015.