Relationships Between Empathy,Nursing Organizational Climate And Burnout Among Clinical Nurses

Objectives1.To investigate how nurses perceived empathy,nursing organization climate and burnout,and explore the influence factors of job burnout from individual and organizational level.2.To understand nurses’ experiences of applying empathy,and providing theoretical guidance to relieve nurses’ burnout and developing empathy related theory.3.To explore the relationship between nurse organizational innovation climate and nurses’ job satisfaction,and providing theoretical guidance for managers to improve nursing organizational climate and nurses’ job satisfaction.Methods1.A total of 965 participants were selected with convenience sampling in Guangdong province.The questionnaires used in this survey included general information questionnaire,Interpersonal Reactivity Index,nursing organizational climate scale and Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Services.2.Ten nurses were interviewed with the theme of empathy to collect qualitative data.3.A total of 300 participants were selected with convenience sampling in a Tertiary hospital in Guangzhou.The questionnaires used in this survey included general information questionnaire,nurse organizational innovation climate scale and Minnesota satisfaction scale.Results1.The average score of nurses’ empathy,organizational climate and burnout were 51.47(9.90),92.03(15.08)and 38.19(13.32)respectively.The total effect of empathy on emotional exhaustion via mediator variable(nursing organizational climate)was0.555.2."Empathic behavior" was identified as core category,and the theory of empathy behavior was constructed:nurses’ empathy behavior is regulated by nurses’ personal factors,patients’ conditions and organizational factors,and implementing empathy behavior also affects themselves.3.The average score of organizational innovation climate and job satisfaction were 81.35(14.51)and 69.85(14.91)respectively.Regression analysis showed that,after demographic data controlled,the regression model explained 52%of the variance in nurses’ job satisfaction.Conclusions1.Our findings suggest that both empathy and nursing organizational climate are protective factors which prevent nurses from burnout.Managers can alleviate nurses’burnout through developing empathy and improving nursing organizational climate.2.The theory of empathic behavior can guide managers to take targeted measures to promote nurses to carry out empathic behavior,and pay attention to mediate nurses’negative emotions caused by empathic behavior simultaneously.3.Both cross-sectional and qualitative studies have confirmed that empathy does not trigger job burnout.This study provides empirical evidence for developing the theory of compassion fatigue.4.Organizational innovation climate and nurses’ job satisfaction stay at a higher level.Good organizational innovation climate is helpful to improve nurses’ job satisfaction.