Professional Burnout syndrome in nursing practice

Abstract

Introduction. Burnout syndrome is a global phenomenon, especially in the health care sector. In the field of health professionals, nursing is one of the most exhausting professions due to the various factors and characteristics of professional practice that cause physical and emotional exhaustion. Aim of study. The study aimed to assess Burnout syndrome in nurses in order to identify the factors that contribute to it. Methods and materials. We conducted a cross-sectional study based on a group of 68 nurses, by interviewing directly 15 nurses working in different types of medical institutions in the country and indirectly by questionnaire on different online platforms. Data were collected from June 2021 until February 2022 using a self-reported questionnaire that includes socio-demographic dates and the Maslach Burnout Inventory- which was applied to identify Burnout syndrome. The data were analysed by the Excel program. Results. The study included 68 nurses, 56 women (82%) and 12 men (17%), with a mean age of 38.21 ± 0.21 (range 20- 62) years. The average number of working hours per week was 46.40±4.4 (range 6-108) hours, and 34 (50%) nurses work night shifts. The average number of shifts per month was 6.95 ±0.05 (range 3- 12) shifts. According to the Maslach Inventory different degrees of Burnout syndrome were established in 61 (89,7%) cases. The intensity of work and the number of over-scheduled hours and/or patients affect nurses’ professional activity in 44.3% (31) cases. The financial issues were identified as a factor that increased the Burnout syndrome in 20.6% of cases. At the same time, 41 (60%) nurses were directly involved in the care of patients with COVID-19, of which 40 nurses (58.8%) were „ totally agree" that the COVID 19 pandemic added stress to their professional activities. Conclusion. Burnout syndrome was identified among 89,70% of the nurses from the study. We recognized a set of factors that negatively influence medical work contributing to Burnout syndrome, such as work intensity, the high number of patients or working, night shifts, and financial satisfaction. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the worsening of the phenomenon of Burnout among nurses.