A new study, led by health policy researchers from the Rand Corporation and funded by the Agency for Health Research and Quality, surveyed pediatric nurses at an urban children’s hospital to assess Evaluate factors that may or may not contribute to feelings of burnout.
WHY IT IMPORTANT
The study – controlling for roles, positions and units – found that higher levels of nurse burnout were associated with greater workload around quality improvement efforts.
Inpatient pediatric nurses are at high risk of burnout due to large patient populations, inadequate staffing and the need to balance the needs of patients, families and team members, the researchers said. “.
Even with a dedication to quality improvement, many nurses and clinicians are overwhelmed by what it takes to meet the new QI standards and reporting requirements.
They questioned the value of new quality initiatives and expectations, and they were reluctant to switch from one system to another as quality and safety were integrated into forest processes. ready.
Meanwhile, nurses who said they did not suffer from burnout said they regularly received reports of patient experiences and felt involved in quality improvement efforts.
The takeaway from Rand’s pediatric nurse burnout study is that, while more research is needed to identify aspects of quality improvement engagement that reduce burnout, nurses taking an active role in QI processes and being more confident in measuring the patient experience achieved better outcomes. – job satisfaction.
TREND TO BIGGER
IQ Hospital, recently acquired by LeanTaas, says Healthcare IT News Last year, while 90% of nurses were thinking about leaving the profession when they were surveyed, it wasn’t just due to pandemic burnout.
Due to a lack of technicians, they’re “assigned to more than their respective roles, including cleaning units, purchasing supplies, and more,” said Shawn Sefton, RN, chief nursing officer and vice president of customers. private and clerical duties as part of their typical workload”. services at IQ Hospital, in a conversation about how technology can reduce nurse burnout.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has previously predicted that more than 275,000 nurses are needed by 2030, predicting that job opportunities for nurses will grow faster than all other occupations between 2016 and 2026 .
However, nurse burnout has exploded during the pandemic, increasing the need to train more nurses in the US
“Today, they face a reduced number of colleagues to help shoulder these burdens as patients continue to depend on them. The funding opportunity announced today will support training and other initiatives. another program to help improve equity in the workforce while bringing more nurses into the industry,” Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said as the department announced $80 million to address the nurse shortage. in October.
Others, like Prisma Health, have also ramped up funding to address nursing shortages. The provider is investing $5 million to pilot a nurse recruitment program at five colleges and universities in South Carolina that have been hit hard.
Rebecca Love RN, clinical director of workforce management software company IntelyCare, said this week that she expects hospitals to redouble their efforts to retain nurses.
“I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of great new ideas coming out when it comes to hiring,” she told LinkedIn News this week.
“We’re going to be blind when it comes to hiring without a retention strategy.”
ON PROFILE
“Support open communication among pediatric nurses, engage them in QI, and integrate QI into patient care while minimizing workload,” Rand researchers said in the report. QI can reduce burnout.”
Andrea Fox is the senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS.
