Thirty percent of registered nurses at nursing homes report high levels of burnout, according to a study published July 23 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
The study aimed to examine the relationship between RN burnout, job dissatisfaction and missed care in nursing homes. Researchers conducted a cross-sectional secondary analysis of linked data from the 2015RN4CAST-US nurse survey and LTCfocus. The data represented 687 direct care RNs at 540 Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes in California, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The study found 31 percent of RNs were dissatisfied with their job, and 72 percent said they missed at least one necessary care task on their most recent shift due to lack of time or resources. RNs with burnout were five times more likely to neglect necessary care.
The survey does not explore whether heavy workloads are causing burnout, but working conditions and burnout are "closely related concepts," Elizabeth White, PhD, MSN, the study's lead author and a postdoctoral researcher at Brown University School of Public Health, told The Philadelphia Inquirer.