Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue

NURS 6052 Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue

Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue

Healthcare organizations have a moral and professional obligation to provide quality care to deserving patients and populations. To achieve this goal, healthcare organizations should be adequately resourced in terms of staff, materials, and finances. Workplace problems should be kept to a minimum in order to maintain optimal professional relationships. However, due to increased workplace issues, this vision of a healthy workplace is usually speculative. Many issues are so widespread that they are considered national healthcare issues or stressors. This paper examines nurse burnout as a national healthcare issue that has a negative impact on organizational outcomes, as well as effective interventions proposed in scholarly sources.

Nurse Burnout and its Effects on Organizations

The optimal output of healthcare workers is critical to achieving the desired levels of patient care. Nurse burnout is a major impediment because of the devastating effects it has on nurses’ physical, mental, and emotional health. Nurse burnout manifests itself in terms of health by a significant decrease in nurses’ energy. Emotional exhaustion, low motivation, and easily becoming frustrated are all defining characteristics (Dall’Ora et al., 2020). Leading causes include organizational culture, workplace relationships, and the effects of strain associated with patient care on nurses. Nurses cannot provide the quality of care and patient safety that is generally expected in practice unless they receive adequate support.

The consequences of nurse burnout in the workplace are significant and detrimental to interprofessional collaboration and patient care. Workplace incivility appears to be triggered by nurse burnout. According to frequent reports from progressive and summative performance reviews, about 10-20 cases of workplace violence are caused by emotional exhaustion. In the same case, 30-40% of workplace disrespect cases are associated with physically and emotionally exhausted nurses. Other minor incivility issues associated with nurse burnout include silent treatment and social exclusion. Unless appropriate measures are taken, the problem may become unmanageable as time passes. Aside from incivility, nurse burnout has been identified as a major cause of turnover. Approximately 15% of nurse turnover cases in the organization are associated with exhaustion to the point where nurses are unable to cope.

The effects of nurse burnout in the workplace are overwhelming and must be effectively managed. Its association with workplace

incivility suggests that it poses a significant risk to healthy relationships, quality care, and nurse satisfaction. The persistence of workplace incivility, according to Dall’Ora et al. (2020), leads to job dissatisfaction and communication issues. Another issue is psychological stress, as well as a general decline in physical health. Nurse turnover, on the other hand, is difficult to manage from a management, financial, and service quality standpoint (Samad et al., 2021). It frequently prompts healthcare organizations to recruit new nurses to replace the lost workforce. Such behaviors are unsatisfying and draining. They can be avoided by ensuring that nurses are in good enough mental and physical health to carry out their routine duties.

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Nurse burnout is a serious problem, according to the organization’s data, because it is multifaceted. It has a negative impact on nurses, patients, and the organization. Burnout exposes the current nursing workforce to health and relationship issues. Aside from the inevitable physical and emotional exhaustion, nurse burnout can have an impact on nurses’ attitudes toward their jobs. They are more likely to perceive it negatively and lack the intrinsic motivation required to actively participate in care processes. Such nurses are also uninterested in improving health outcomes. They are unable to use innovative strategies to improve patient outcomes, which has an impact on the overall quality of patient care and organizational output.

Review of Scholarly Sources on Nurse Burnout

Nurse burnout has piqued the interest of many nursing and healthcare researchers as a national healthcare issue. The study looked at nurse burnout from a variety of perspectives, including prevention and strategies for mitigating its effects. An article on reducing burnout among physicians and nurses by Zhang et al. (2020) is one of the useful resources in addressing nurse burnout. The article investigated how global healthcare organizations can address nurse burnout through a bundled strategy. Nurse burnout, according to Zhang et al. (2020), cannot be effectively addressed with a single strategy due to its multifaceted nature. The most effective strategy is a bundled strategy that includes individual-focused, structural or organizational interventions, and combined interventions. The study is based on the premise that nurses and management must collaborate to address burnout by addressing individual, structural, and organizational issues that cause burnout.

Another useful resource is an article on reducing nurse burnout in a UK university by Brook et al. (2021). The explanatory sequential mixed-methods study concentrated on the interventions required to reduce nurse burnout and increase nurse retention. The study’s main finding was that nurse burnout is more of a mental issue than a physical one. Because nurses’ mental health is more affected than their physical health, the most effective interventions should focus on psychological skills and cognition. Brook et al. (2021), for example, emphasized mindfulness and psychological skills training as effective strategies for nurse burnout. Combining the strategies with cognitive realignment can improve outcomes.

Summary of Proposed Interventions and Implications for Practice

Nurse burnout can be reduced in the organization by implementing the proposed interventions. Each strategy has both positive and negative consequences. Individual-focused strategies for addressing nurse burnout, according to Zhang et al. (2020), include self-care workshops, stress management skills, and mindfulness. Workload or schedule rotation adjustments, improved teamwork and support, and communication training are examples of structural or organizational interventions. Training in resilience was also suggested. The multidimensionality and comprehensiveness of the bundled interventions have the greatest positive impact. They address nurses’ emotional, mental, and physical health issues, emphasizing their high likelihood of success. However, implementing these strategies at the same time can be costly in both managerial and financial terms.

As previously proposed, when addressing nurse burnout, the mental health of nurses should be a priority. The organization should be involved in continuous performance improvement while implementing strategies that increase enjoyment and self-satisfaction. Mindfulness and psychological skill training are two examples of such strategies. On the plus side, interventions aimed at improving mental health contribute to a more contented, satisfied, and focused workforce. They play an important role in enabling nurses to understand and passionately execute their roles. In the organization, similar interventions are required. To reduce incivility and promote cohesion, a happy and satisfied workforce is required. However, focusing solely on mental health may not adequately address the issue. If the physical and emotional health needs are not met, it may lead to other problems.

Conclusion

Nurse burnout is a widespread healthcare issue that has a negative impact on nurses, patients, and organizations. It is characterized by physical and emotional exhaustion, to the point where nurses are unable to cope. Innovative and long-term solutions are required as a cause of workplace incivility and turnover in the organization. Healthcare organizations should consider a bundled strategy, as suggested in the articles. Nurse mental health interventions are also effective in addressing nurse burnout. The strategy chosen is determined by the nature of the problem, its severity, and the organization’s ability.

References

Brook, J., Aitken, L. M., MacLaren, J. A., & Salmon, D. (2021). An intervention to decrease burnout and increase retention of early career nurses: a mixed methods study of acceptability and feasibility. BMC Nursing, 20(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-020-00524-9

Dall’Ora, C., Ball, J., Reinius, M., & Griffiths, P. (2020). Burnout in nursing: A theoretical review. Human resources for health, 18, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-020-00469-9

Samad, A., Memon, S. B., & Maitlo, A. A. (2021). Workplace incivility and turnover intention among nurses of public healthcare system in Pakistan. Independent Journal of Management & Production, 12(5), 1394-1412. doi: 10.14807/ijmp.v12i5.1409

Zhang, X. J., Song, Y., Jiang, T., Ding, N., & Shi, T. Y. (2020). Interventions to reduce burnout of physicians and nurses: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Medicine, 99(26). doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000020992