Nursing Clinicians’ Perceived Stress and Burnout in One Urban Trauma Center

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Abstract
Aims: To better understand perceived stress and burnout levels among registered nurses, certified nursing assistants, certified nurse leaders, and nurse practitioners and describe clinician characteristics associated with their perceived stress and burnout during the COVID‐19 pandemic and concurrent racial unrest in Philadelphia. Design: A descriptive, cross‐sectional design was used to collect data on demographics, perceived stress, and burnout levels among a convenience sample of nursing clinicians. Methods: Data were collected using the 4‐item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS‐4) and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) to assess perceived stress and burnout. SAS was used to tabulate and calculate PSS‐4 and CBI scores and descriptive data. Chi‐squared and Fisher Exact tests were used to measure statistical association between variables. Results: The study revealed a significant association between gender and self‐reported tiredness, with women reporting greater fatigue than men. African American participants reported that things rarely went their way on Item 3 of the PSS‐4. Approximately, 70% of nursing clinicians experienced work‐related burnout and 85% of experienced clinicians, 5 or more years, expressed more doubts about their capacity to continue to work with patients. Conclusions: Nurses experienced the stress of caring for COVID‐19 patients and in some cases victims of the racial unrest in their communities. Nursing clinicians are not immune to the turmoil outside of the hospitals within their own communities. Relevance to Clinical Practice: This study underscores the major impact the pandemic, racial unrest, and perceived stress had on nurse clinicians, emphasizing the need for proactive strategies to support their well‐being and decrease burnout.

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