Effective Interventions for Nursing Student Burnout

Abstract

Nursing student burnout negatively impacts students' health and potentially threatens the quality of care provided to patients. 1 Burnout is a psychological syndrome that manifests in response to prolonged stress and results in feelings of emotional exhaustion, insufficiency, and detachment from work. 1,2 Nursing students are especially vulnerable to burnout because they experience stress at higher levels than students in other fields. 1,[3][4][5][6] Research has shown that burnout is rising among nursing students as they struggle to cope with stress in academic and clinical environments. 7,8 Previous authors have found that 30% of undergraduate nursing students had symptoms of burnout syndrome, 9 with 97.8% at a moderate risk for developing burnout. 10 Nursing student burnout is a significant issue that leads to decreased academic success, increased attrition, and poor clinical performance. [11][12][13] Studies have shown that stress reduction can decrease burnout. 14,15 However, research evidence describing effective interventions that specifically reduce burnout in undergraduate nursing students is limited. A scoping review is appropriate for this topic to determine what is known about interventions for nursing student burnout. This review aimed to identify published research that evaluated the effectiveness of interventions to mitigate or prevent nursing student burnout. This scoping review was guided by the following question: What are effective interventions for nursing student burnout? Methods Search StrategyThis scoping review included a search of the MEDLINE (via PubMed), CINAHL (via EBSCO), PsycINFO (via EBSCO), and Google Scholar databases for empiric quantitative and qualitative literature for problem identification, data evaluation, data synthesis, and data reporting. Although this review was not registered a priori, a search of scoping review protocols in PROSPERO and Open Science Framework confirmed no registered protocols with a closely related focus were currently in progress.

The mediating effect of self-directed learning ability between professional identity and burnout among nursing students

“…Regular assessment of burnout can provide valuable information about students' psychological state related to academic stress. Nursing educators should also incorporate effective interventions into the nursing curriculum to reduce students' burnout, such as mindfulness-based education, resilience education, and progressive muscle relaxation [ 1 ]. Moreover, the critical roles of professional identity and SDL ability should be noted in reducing students' burnout.…”

“…With the growing need of quality care, nursing students need to obtain more professional knowledge and skills to be competent for their work. Nursing students are vulnerable to burnout as they struggle to manage stress in academic and clinical environments [ 1 ]. Burnout refers to the psychological state including emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment [ 2 ].…”

Burnout Screening Scale for Interns

“…[6] The lack of targeted initiatives to improve internship conditions and adaptation in the working environment of interns can cause problems, from the devaluation of the professional achievements of young specialists to finding another place of work, changing professions. [7] Recognition of the existence of this problem by the organizers of the health care system is the first step on the way to its solution. In our opinion, the conscious consolidation of the prestige of the position of an intern doctor in society is an important way for integration into the European educational space.…”

Educating nurses for a changing world

“…Nurses, in primary care and elsewhere, are also reporting increased care burden, frequent staff shortages, overfilled units, and failing health structures. Burnout and staffing shortages reduce nursing students’ access to preceptors and newly graduated nurses’ access to mentors, and can negatively impact nursing learners 9 …”

“…Burnout and staffing shortages reduce nursing students' access to preceptors and newly graduated nurses' access to mentors, and can negatively impact nursing learners. 9 The prospect of redesigning the blueprint for nursing education in a changing health climate is both daunting and exciting. Early introduction to digital health education 10 ; incorporation of simulation-based and virtual education into nursing curriculums 11,12 ; and investment in nurses through continuing professional development opportunities, nursing residency programs, and transition to practice initiatives 13 not only provide complementary alternatives to current nursing education, but also foster a sense of agency and pride within the nursing field.…”