Burnout is everywhere, and it has become a matter of patient safety.
It’s no secret that nurses and healthcare professionals across the industry are burnt out.
Nurses are feeling overworked and undervalued, and since the COVID-19 pandemic and the massive nursing shortage, it has only gotten worse.
Nurse and nurse practitioner burnout is known to have a direct impact on the patient’s experience, and now it’s leading to more emergency department visits.
A recent study from the Columbia School of Nursing found two pieces of key information: A sizeable proportion of primary care nurse practitioners are burnt out, and primary care practices with higher rates of nurse practitioner burnout are seeing higher rates of older patients with chronic conditions receiving acute care.
The problem
Out of the nurse practitioners included in the study, 26.3%, or more than 1 in 4, reported burnout, which is comparable to the levels of burnout amongst other clinicians, such as physicians and registered nurses. According to the authors of the study, Lusine Poghosyan, PhD, MPH, RN, and her colleagues, these numbers should cause concern, and they indicate the need for more attention and research on burnout among nurse practitioners, since most of the research currently available was conducted on physicians or registered nurses.
The effects of burnout on patient care go beyond nurse practitioners. The authors cite previous research that states that hospitals with high nurse burnout rates have extended lengths of stay and greater odds of patient mortality. This new study clearly supports the idea that burnout is affecting patient safety, and that addressing burnout must be a priority for health systems.
The study also offers an alternative explanation to blaming exhausted clinicians for lack of care quality. The authors suggest that there are broader failures within health systems that have policies and working conditions which lead to burnout.
So, what’s the solution?
In the study, the authors state that poor work environments for nurse practitioners are those where there is a “lack of autonomy, inadequate support for care delivery, and poor relationships with practice administrators.” These issues carry over into all of nursing, where there are continuous calls for better working conditions and more support from health systems.
CNOs have a responsibility to their nurses to deliver better working conditions and help them maintain a better work-life balance. According to Lisa Dolan, Senior VP and CNO at Ardent Health Services, there are many things that can be done to help solve this issue.
“One of the initial things is just to be open and talk about burnout,” she says, “and recognize that it’s a real situation.”
Dolan suggests implementing wellbeing check-ins and debriefings after serious incidents, and potentially offering support programs for new mothers or those caring for aging parents. She also emphasizes the importance of celebrating wins as they come, and using patient feedback as a method of uplifting nurses’ spirits.
“If we have great outcomes,” Dolan says, “let’s celebrate every opportunity we [can].”
G Hatfield is the nursing editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
A recent study found that primary care facilities that employ nurse practitioners dealing with stress and burnout are seeing higher rates of older patients needing emergency care.
Nurse burnout has a direct impact on patient safety and quality of care.
CNOs need to develop better working conditions for nurses to help them avoid burnout.