The Perceptions of Burnout, Its Prevention and Its Effect on Patient Care as Described by Oncology Nurses in the Hospital Setting

This quantitative descriptive study sought to identify perceptions of burnout of inpatient oncology nurses in the hospital setting and how they perceived burnout affected the care they provided and how burnout could be decreased. Nurses employed on three pre-selected inpatient oncology units of an academic university hospital participated on an anonymous voluntary basis by completing the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) and the Inpatient Oncology Nursing Questionnaire (IONQ) an investigator developed questionnaire which addressed demographics of the participants and specific aspects of perceptions about burnout. A total of 110 nurses were employed across the three nursing units, of those 100 nurses were asked to participate in person by the investigator. Of these nurses 61 elected to participate in this study through completing and returning the questionnaires to designated locations on the units to maintain anonymity. Study data analyzed revealed that there was a high degree of moderate burnout levels among the nurses and that 95% of them perceived that burnout had a negative impact on the care they provided. Nurses also had perceptions that burnout was increased when meals and breaks where skipped or shortened along with when increased patient-nurse ratios existed negatively impacting patient care. Lastly this study sought to identify perceptions of how to decrease burnout among inpatient oncology nurses. When analyzed the data illustrated that nurses perceived collaboration and teamwork, adequate resources and supplies, support of family and friends, and exercise as mechanisms to decrease burnout. Implications for practice include disseminating this data into the facility to assist nurses in decreasing burnout to improve patient care provided.