Capstone Project Background Analysis: Nursing Burnout

Nurse Burnout
Name
Institution
Due Date
Nurse Burnout
Introduction
Nurse burnout is not a difficult phenomenon. The term means the fatigue or feelings of lethargy that come with the profession of nursing. Like any other profession, nurses get to put in a lot of hours, and their bodies usually respond. It is crucial to mention that burnout is not limited to feeling tired and lethargic. The term spans aspects like stress and the mental well-being of nurses. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that nurses get enough rest days and time off. During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses and other healthcare professionals felt the bulk of the challenge. They were expected to adjust as fast as possible and offer the many patients falling sick. The burnout resulted in decreased patient safety, increased medical errors by nurses and physicians, worsened interpersonal relationships, and increased mortality rates (Garcia et al., 2019). The world watched in horror as more people fell sick, nurses posted videos while putting in 12-plus-hour shifts daily.
Further, more healthcare professionals were taken ill, which continued to impact the health and safety of patients and the general public. Therefore, nurse burnout is a major impediment to increased quality of care and enhanced patient safety. Provided herein is a discussion of how understanding the issue of nurse burnout could help impact personal practice and the entire nursing profession.
Importance of Understanding Nurse Burnout
Understanding the issue of nurse burnout is key to devising ways that can help ensure nurses have an easier, much better schedule. As indicated, nurse burnout has a ripple effect in the healthcare sector. When nurses are tired, healthcare provision is greatly impacted. The public feels the impact through their sick, while the healthcare professional feels the effects through the reduced effectiveness of the nurses. Therefore, there is a need to debunk the issue as a healthcare organization and develop strategies to help curb nurse burnout.
As an individual seeking to become a nurse sometime in the future, nurse burnout needs to be understood and its impact on personal effectiveness. In a healthcare organization, the staff members are part of a system that requires input from every person. When a single piece is missing, the chances are high that the entire system will crumble. Therefore, there is a need to position oneself to help reduce instances of fatigue, or else; the whole system will crumble. As Garcia et al. (2019) indicate, there is a need to understand and practice organized workflows to help limit fatigue instances and ensure order within a healthcare organization. This way, nurses will avoid burnout and remain highly effective in the long run.
For the nursing profession, the risk is much greater. The work stands little to no chance of survival within a healthcare organization if nurse burnout persists. Talaee et al. (2020) note that the nursing profession will likely be forced to deal with depression, anxiety, and other mental healthcare issues because of nurse burnout. Reduced effectiveness of the entire workforce will be expected, and with time, there will be a shortage of professionals to help in the sector. When people f...