Medical-surgical emergency nurses’ burnout after the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Burnout is a tridimensional syndrome resulting from professional activities. Objectives: To identify the level of burnout perceived by medical-surgical emergency nurses after the COVID-19 pandemic and to analyze the relationship between the mean scores of the burnout dimensions and the sociodemographic and professional variables. Methodology: Quantitative, descriptive-correlational, and cross-sectional study on a sample of 39 nurses. Results: Most participants (51.3%) have no burnout or a low burnout level, 28.2% have a moderate burnout level, and 20.5% have a high burnout level. Regarding the mean score per dimension, the highest score was emotional exhaustion, with 2.60 ± 1.35. A statistically significant relationship was found in some dimensions, such as gender, working hours per day, workplace satisfaction, and perception of increased fatigue/exhaustion due to the pandemic. Conclusion: The percentages of moderate and high burnout highlight the importance of continuous monitoring, aiming at planning and promoting appropriate prevention and intervention strategies.