At a time when the U.S. health care industry is grappling with critical labor shortages, nearly one-third of registered nurses are leaving the profession because of burnout.
Nursa, a health care staffing platform, developed a scoring system to measure burnout, which the World Health Organization characterizes as feelings of exhaustion, increased mental distance or negativism toward one's job, and reduced professional efficacy. Patient load, compensation, job satisfaction and cost of living are among the key factors contributing to nursing burnout
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This research found that nurses in Colorado are most at risk of burning out. With a burnout score of 8.42 on a scale of 10, Colorado nurses face some of the harshest working conditions in the country. Each nurse is responsible for approximately 155 patients, the second- highest patient-to-nurse ratio in the nation. Although their average workweek is slightly shorter at 37 hours, this is offset by a cost of living 2% higher than the national average
Arizona ranks second in burnout risk, with a score of 8.31. Each nurse cares for an average of 148 patients at once, again reflecting heavy workloads. This situation is compounded by a cost of living that is 11.2% higher than the national average and low compensation. In third place is New York, with a burnout risk score of 8.14. Although the average patient load is lighter at 107 patients per nurse, other stressors drive burnout levels higher. Nurses in New York work longer hours (39 per week) and contend with a cost of living 23% above the national average.
By contrast, Rhode Island is the state where nurses are at least risk of burnout, with a score of 4.46. Despite working longer hours on average (40 per week) and having a high cost of living (12.2% above the national average), nurses in Rhode Island care for significantly fewer patients each on average, currently standing at 91 patients per nurse. Most notably, 93% of nurses surveyed from this state report high job satisfaction.
“This goes to show that burnout among nurses is most likely to occur when staff are responsible for large numbers of patients each,” the study concluded. “Therefore, the key to sustaining low levels of nurse burnout may not be generous compensation, but rather the ability to maintain a manageable workload within one’s working hours.”
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Alan Goforth
Alan Goforth is a freelance writer in suburban Kansas City. In addition to freelancing for several publications, he has written a dozen books about sports and other topics.
