Capstone projects allow healthcare organizations and providers, especially advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to implement interventions based on evidence and improve care delivery. Burnout remains a critical safety and quality of care issue for nurses in all care settings, from acute to normal care settings (AACCN, 2020). As such, interventions to reduce and prevent burnout are critical for nurses and healthcare organizations to address the issue. The purpose of this paper is to discuss interventions aimed at reducing and preventing burnout among nurses as a capstone project. The paper selects the use of mindfulness and self-care techniques as ways that can help nurses to combat burnout.
The issue of focus is burnout among nurses which happens due to several factors like stressful workdays, increased workload due to an endemic nursing shortage, and long hours with unpredictable shifts or work schedules. Burnout affects nurses at the organizational and individual level as they take all their efforts in caring for patients with reports indicating that close to 20% of nurses leave the profession due to the problem. Again, close to 30% of nurses want to change to less stressful nursing roles and positions (AACCN, 2020). Therefore, burnout is a leadership issue as organizations across the healthcare sector develop evidence-based approaches to address it. The problem requires strategic planning and policy development aimed at the retention of nurses and improving their workplace conditions. It also requires effective management to mitigate its causes and risks for occurrence.
Burnout is a problem that occurs in virtually all healthcare settings, from hospitals to nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The context of the problem is the need to meet care demands with a limited nursing workforce. The current nursing shortage also exacerbates the situation as nurses leave the profession for different reasons like lateral violence. The population impacted by the issue includes nurses, nurse assistants, and even patients and their families (Othman et al., 2023). Nurses offer care and are integral to the overall safety of patients. Therefore, burnout affects the quality of care and increases susceptibility to adverse events like medication errors.
Burnout is a serious nursing practice challenge with significant implications for the providers and patients. In their article, Ryu et al. (2021) observe that burnout impacts nurses’ physical and mental health leading to diminished job satisfaction levels and motivation. Burnout also contributes to poor patient outcomes and care delivery. Nurses experiencing burnout are susceptible to patient safety issues as they lack sufficient concentration levels. The current nursing shortage emanates partly from the burnout that nurses experience prompting their turnover and leaving the profession altogether (Williams et al., 2021). The implication is that the nursing practice suffers as it loses competent and well-trained qualified healthcare providers. Jun et al. (2021) observe that nurse burnout leads to worsening safety and quality of care, reduced patient satisfaction, and lower commitment to the organization. Kelly et al. (2021) opine that burnout increases turnover and the cost of recruiting new nurses. The implication is that nursing practice in an organization is hampered and adversely affected.
Burnout is a priority issue as it affects the quality of care and patient safety. Burnout exposes nurses to poor care delivery and susceptibility to mistakes as they lack concentration in their work. Burnout increases operational costs as nurses leave the organization leading to more recruitment to replace those going away (Linton et al., 2020). Furthermore, preventing burnout is critical to improving patient outcomes and lowering the burden on limited resources, especially within the site. The issue is a priority to enhance the retention of nurses and delivery of quality care for millions of patients in the healthcare system.
The practicum site is a busy hospital and part of a national health system whose mission is to offer the best quality care to patients irrespective of their status with a vision of being a center of health excellence through leveraging its core resources. The organization’s values are centered on patient safety, inherent dignity, and respect. The leadership structure entails a management board, a chief executive officer, a chief medical officer (CMO) respective heads of department, and staff. Internal processes that may affect card coordination to resolve the issue include staff training, implementation of policies, and optimal resource allocation and utilization (Kelly et al., 2021). External aspects entail compliance with regulatory requirements, engagement and participation of the community, and alliances and partnerships with other entities.
Burnout remains a critical issue and many organizations are focusing on addressing it through better strategies and interventions. These include having a sufficient number of providers, improving communication, engagement, and participation of nurses in decision-making, and leveraging best practices like scheduling and reducing long working hours for nurses. Mentorship programs and better orientation initiatives are also essential in addressing the issue (Dall’Ora et al., 2020). Therefore, the organization is well-positioned to address the issue by implementing multidisciplinary strategies targeted at improving coordination and better workplace conditions.
Burnout is a leading cause of nurse turnover and poor health delivery. Leaders in any setting should seek ways to address the issue as it affects the quality of care and the performance of nurses and other providers. Having effective organizational structure coordination and strategies to address the issue is critical to improving outcomes and patient safety.
American Association of Clinical Care Nurses (AACCN) (2020 April 7). Six Self-Care
Strategies to Combat Clinician Burnout. https://www.aacn.org/newsroom/six-self-care-strategies-to-combat-clinician-burnout
Dall’Ora, C., Ball, J., Reinius, M., & Griffiths, P. (2020). Burnout in nursing: a theoretical
review. Human resources for health, 18, 1-17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-020-00469-9
Jun, J., Ojemeni, M. M., Kalamani, R., Tong, J., & Crecelius, M. L. (2021). Relationship
between nurse burnout, patient and organizational outcomes: Systematic review. International journal of nursing studies, 119, 103933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.103933
Kelly, L. A., Gee, P. M., & Butler, R. J. (2021). Impact of nurse burnout on organ