The moderating effect of burnout on professionalism, values and competence of nurses in Saudi Arabia amidst the COVID‐19 pandemic: A structural equation modelling approach

Abstract

Aim To examine the moderating effect of burnout on the relationship between nurses' competence, professional competence and professional values. Background There is a preponderance of burnout studies of nurses before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic. However, little is known about burnout's moderating influence on nurses' professionalism, competence and values during the ongoing pandemic. Methods This study used a correlational, cross‐sectional design and convenience sampling to recruit 809 Saudi nurses employed in four government hospitals. Four self‐report instruments were used to collect data from August 2021 to March 2022. Spearman Rho, structural equation modelling and multi‐group moderation analysis were used to analyse the data. Results Most of the participants had high burnout. There was a moderate to high correlation between the dimensions of professional competence, nurse professional values, burnout and nurse competence. Both professional competence and nurse professional values significantly affected nurse competence. Nurse professional values also had a direct effect on professional competence. Professional competence and nurse professional values on nurse competence may vary among those with low, moderate and high levels of burnout, suggesting the moderating effect of burnout. Conclusions The positive impacts of nurse professional values and professional competence on nursing competence were validated in this study, as was the evidence of burnout's moderating effect on the studied connections. To avoid burnout, it is necessary to increase organizational knowledge and support for nurses, their working conditions and the environment through strategies that promote well‐being and empowerment. Implications for nursing management Nurse managers can implement policies to help nurses minimize burnout and improve their professional values and competence. Management policies may be considered include increased staffing, opportunities to improve technical abilities through education and vocational training programs, and increased diversity of job assignments.

The Experiences of Primary Healthcare Nurses During Covid-19 pandemic: Voices from Nursing Staff at King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Buraydah

“…The instability of clinical practice, the lack of effective planning for a pandemic, the scarcity of available resources, and the risk of contracting an infectious disease all add to a general sense of insecurity (Gao et al, 2020). The high number of healthcare workers dying internationally owing to COVID19 (De Tella et al, 2020) is likely to have heightened current worries, just as the deaths of colleagues have produced uncertainty and anxiety in earlier pandemics (Grande et al, 2022). The intervention to help nurses cope with these worries may lie in strategies that encourage the spread of consistent and reliable information.…”

“…Healthcare workers have experienced negative psychological problems such as stress, anxiety, fear of infection, and other mental health problems. Furthermore, the lack of Personal protective equipment (PPP), extra workload, big volume of infected cases, lack of medical supplies, and lack of drugs were major problems facing the primary healthcare centers in most regions (Greenberg et al, 2020;Cai et al, 2020;Saragih et al, 2021;Di Tella et al, 2020).…”

“…Little research on experiences of nurses during respiratory epidemics or pandemics has been published (Alsulimani et al, 2021;Moreno et al, 2020;Guixia & Hui, 2020;Grande et al, 2022). Most studies, according to a recent systematic review, focus on acute care nurses (Fernandez et al, 2020).…”

Filipinos’ COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy comments in TikTok videos: A manifest content analysis

“…Using public health nursing principles of health promotion and disease prevention, it is critical for public health nurses (PHNs) and other HCWs to provide proactive guidance and health education about the safety and importance of vaccines to individuals, families, and communities. Furthermore, PHNs must uphold their professional values and social responsibility to protect, promote, and optimize health(Grande et al, 2022) by lobbying their legislators to enact legislation requiring immunization for all individuals up to their booster doses. In such cases, guidelines should be in place to monitor alternative plans and schedules to demonstrate progress toward eradicating vaccine-preventable diseases.Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing.…”

Commentary: Exploring perceived stress from caring for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients in nurses: a qualitative study

“…Nonetheless, there is a preponderance of studies that report nurses’ continued exposure to risks, scarcity of clinical resources and psychological impacts ( Buchan et al, 2022 ). Most reported studies deal with nurses’ stress, uncertainties and fear ( Bae et al, 2022 ; Grande et al, 2022 ). Thus, this study piqued my interest.…”