A sufficient number of nurses in a healthcare setting presents a factor that positively impacts the effectiveness of healthcare services. With that in mind, modern researchers are expected to pay close attention to the problem of occupational burnout in nurses and other healthcare specialists. More than that, high work-related burnout rates in healthcare institutions indicate that research is needed to invent new strategies that would help to improve employee retention in healthcare services.
The PICOT statement formulated within the frame of the research project refers to implementing strategies aimed at reducing work-related stress and testing their effectiveness for professional nurses who demonstrate the signs of burnout. In order to lay the groundwork for the future research, a set of articles devoted to the topic was analyzed. The number of articles that are connected with the problem of burnout and stress in nurses includes the studies by Nowrouzi et al. (2015) and Harkin and Melby (2014). The problem of occupational burnout in professional nurses and PICOT question identified are strictly interconnected with articles that have been reviewed previously.
The first article presents a systematic review of previous works in the field that generalizes on the ways to reduce stress in healthcare specialists that are known as effective. In particular, the article can be used to strengthen the planned research because the authors provide sufficient information on the types of stress management strategies that are popular nowadays. In reference to the connection between the second article and the problem presented in PICOT question, the results obtained by the researchers indicate that there is no significant difference between burnout rates in medical and emergency nurses. These results are also relevant to the planned study – it was decided to avoid taking into account the type of nurses that will be included in the sample. The nursing practice problem that is the focus of the planned research is burnout in nurses and the ways of reducing its impact, and the study by Nowrousi et al. (2015) presents a valuable source as the researchers do their best to systematize data. The planned study is expected to define whether the use of stress management practices in the workplace positively impacts workplace performance of nurses, reducing the level of burnout. To make a positive contribution to the field by testing the effectiveness of stress management interventions, it would be necessary to use well-known strategies instead of inventing new ones based on unexplored principles.
The information on the manifestation of burnout and stress management practices from the articles can be used to propose evidence-based practice changes. Importantly, the results reported by the authors of the articles help to define stress management practices that can be recommended to be used. In an attempt to cover all points of stress management, Nowrousi et al. (2015) single out the specific role of MBSR interventions and the use of individual approach to stress management. Changes that would help to reduce burnout levels in nurses should also include improving workplace safety: modern researchers prove that close association with seriously ill people and unbalanced workload both contribute to occupational burnout (Sanches, Souza, & Lima, 2018). The proposed change that can be tested during the planned research includes conducting MBSR interventions (physical exercises, lectures on stress and self-help measures, keeping diaries) and improving the work environment. The latter will involve conducting a survey to define the key problems that nurses want to be eliminated. Testing this approach to stress management can help to make a contribution to the field, providing nurses with necessary tools that let them stay effective employees.
References
Harkin, M., & Melby, V. (2014). Comparing burnout in emergency nurses and medical nurses. Clinical Nursing Studies, 2(3), 152-163.
Nowrouzi, B., Lightfoot, N., Larivière, M., Carter, L., Rukholm, E., Schinke, R., & Belanger-Gardner, D. (2015). Occupational stress management and burnout interventions in nursing and their implications for healthy work environments. Workplace Health & Safety, 63(7), 308-315.
Sanches, R. S., Souza, R. A., & Lima, E. S. (2018). Factors related to the development of stress and burnout among nursing professionals who work in the care of people living with HIV/Aids. Revista De Pesquisa: Cuidado E Fundamental, 10(1), 276-282. Web.