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. 2008 Jan;34(1):152-6.
doi: 10.1007/s00134-007-0907-5. Epub 2007 Oct 18.

Burnout in a surgical ICU team

Melanie Verdon  1 , Paolo Merlani, Thomas Perneger, Bara Ricou
Affiliations

Burnout in a surgical ICU team

Melanie Verdon et al. Intensive Care Med. 2008 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: Psychologically stressful situations, a physically demanding workload and a high requirement for technological skills can lead ICU caregivers to burnout. The aim of our study was to evaluate their level of burnout as well as the related factors.

Design: A self-administered anonymous questionnaire.

Setting: A 20-bed surgical ICU in a university hospital.

Patients and participants: Nurse assistants, nurses.

Interventions: None.

Measurements and results: Ninety-seven of 107 questionnaires (91%) were returned. Of the members of ICU nursing team, 28% showed a high level of burnout. They reported a number of concerns, and that they felt discomfort and suffering. There was a discrepancy between the factors felt to be important by them and those statistically related to the burnout. Among the reported concerns, only the lack of patients' co-operation, the organization of the service and the rapid patient turnover were independently associated with a high level of burnout. As many as 49% of the nursing team felt stressed.

Conclusions: Almost a third of the ICU nursing team showed a high level of burnout. The factors felt to be important may not be those related to burnout. Since the well-being of the nursing team is important for the quality of care, corrective actions against the related factors should be sought in order to alleviate the suffering.

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