Burnout: Differences Between Professional and Paraprofessional Nursing Staff in Acute Care and Long-Term Care Health Facilities

Abstract

In burnout the cumulative effects of a stressful work environment gradually overwhelm the defenses of staff members, forcing them to withdraw psychologically. Understanding the experience of professional and paraprofessional nurses who suffer from burnout requires a close examination of the environments in which they function. We examined differences in nursing burnout by occupational levels (professional versus paraprofessional nurses), type of facility (acute care hospitals versus long-term care facilities), and professional exposure to patients with poor prognosis for survival (high, moderate, low). The sample included 312 nurses who worked in three acute care and seven long-term care health facilities. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. We found paraprofessional nurses significantly higher on two dimensions of burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization) than professional nurses. In addition, paraprofessional nurses perceived less support in their work environments than did professional nurses. Furthermore, nurses working in long-term care facilities experienced emotional exhaustion more frequently than did nurses working in acute care facilities. We present recommendations for practice and future research.