Professional Burnout in General, Professional

¶ … Professional Burnout

In general, professional burnout is a significant problem in contemporary nursing but it is higher among community mental health teams (CMHTs) and among community mental health nurses (CMHNs) in particular. A review of empirical literature conducted in the United Kingdom (Edwards, Burnard, Coyle, et al., 2000) revealed several possible explanations for the high incidence of occupational stress in nursing in general and for the fact that community mental health nurses experience even greater stress levels than their counterparts in other areas of professional nursing. In many respects, CMHNs are susceptible to all of the same sources of occupational stress and burnout as other nurses; however, CMHNs are also exposed to several specific types of occupational stress that greatly exacerbate their job-related stress.

The Sources of Vocational Stress and Job Burnout in Community Mental Health Nursing

In principle, there is no general consensus as to the precise definition of professional "burnout" but according to one 1996 analysis, it consists of "a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who work with people work [sic] of some capacity" (Edwards, Burnard, Coyle, et al., 2000). One 1996 source cited by the authors confirmed the conclusion that mental health professionals experience higher levels of job-related stress that affects their job satisfaction and their personal health than healthcare workers generally. Another 1996 source cited implicated increased workloads, understaffing, job insecurity, and rapid organizational change as significant factors in job-related stress and vocational burnout among CMHNs (Edwards, Burnard, Coyle, et al., 2000).

More specifically, the authors cited another 1996 research literature review spanning a decade-long period that indicated that burnout among mental health workers is substantially related to the problems associated with heavy caseloads and personal conflicts in the workplace that conflict with the ability of mental healthcare workers to fully meet the service needs of mental healthcare patients. Another 1997 study suggested that the increasing intensity of work and the regular exposure to potentially violent patients is another significant stressor that accounts for job burnout among CMHNs.

A much earlier study from 1987 was also cited by the authors because it specifically identified two factors as unique sources of stress for psychiatric nurses: patient contact and administrative and organizational factors. In that regard, the authors reported the collective findings of a series of studies from 1985 to 1996 that further detailed the roles of exposure to violent and disruptive patients, staff shortages, and conflicts with fellow staff members and patients' families as significant sources of vocational stress related to job burnout in the mental health nursing field. Two separate studies in that series from 1989 and 1995 both determined that scarce resources (including staff shortages) greatly exacerbated the negative effects of all of those stressors.