| Description |
Problem: Burnout in nursing occurs at an alarming rate and can pose negative outcomes on patient safety. Burnout can also lead to nurses taking time off from work or leave the workforce altogether. Nurses do not always have access to resources to decrease burnout symptoms which only compounds the problem. The aim of this project was to reduce nursing burnout by providing local nurses with volunteer opportunities. Methods: A website was created for nurses in the State of Utah to volunteer for activities, some of which were clinically-based while others were non-clinical activities. A pre-volunteer survey, modified from the abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey using a 5-point Likert scale was administered to all nurses prior to the volunteer experience. The same post-volunteer survey, with three additional questions regarding the website design and volunteering, was administered post-volunteering. Results: The project aim of connecting nurses with volunteer opportunities was met through connecting 12 nurses with volunteer activities utilizing the website. These volunteers indicated that they liked using the website, that they would use the website again, and that they would share the website with others. These participants completed pre- and post-questionnaires, which indicated no significant changes in burnout between pre- and post-volunteer survey findings. Conclusion: Findings from this project provided insight into the usefulness and willingness of nurses to utilize a nurse-specific website to find volunteer opportunities. However, findings were inconclusive in determining if volunteering was an essential resource for nurses who are experiencing burnout symptoms. More research is recommended in exploring volunteerism as a specific resource for decreasing burnout symptoms in nurses. Also, further work could be done to expand this project's nurse volunteer website to reach more nurses in Utah. Problem Description Burnout is a syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion that results in depersonalization and decreased personal accomplishment at work. Nursing burnout occurs at an alarming rate and it has been reported that 34 percent of hospital nurses and 37 percent of nursing home nurses reported feeling burned out (McHugh, 2011). Burnout occurs commonly in nursing because of accumulation of tasks, work overload, and work by shifts and/or at night. Burnout also can occur when dealing with the suffering of others and death, creating affective bonding with patients and their suffering, and the constant exposed to risk of bio-contamination (Filgueira, 2017). There have been many suggestions for reducing burnout, including mindful medication, monitoring work overload patterns, social support resources, implementing team development mechanisms, and recognizing workplace achievements (Davies, 2008; Gabel Shemueli, 2016; Miller, 2016). However, nurses do not always have access to these burnout-reducing resources because of the multi-faceted approach to build individual, team and organizational-level capacity for resilience and prevention of burnout strategies (Boehme, 2016). This lack of access to resources for alleviating burnout is problematic, because nursing burnout has been shown to result in exhaustion and depersonalization, dissatisfaction with jobs, intent to leave the hospital within one year, plans to leave the nursing profession, increased judgment errors decreased work efficiency, medication errors, and hospital-acquired infections and surgical errors (Boehme, 2016; Salyers, 2015; Bogaert, 2013; Mijakoski, 2015). Clearly, there is a need to provide nurses with more resources to help alleviate the causes of burnout. Available Knowledge |
