Piloting the Perfect Storm: A Vision for the Vital Practitioner

Abstract

Background: A private university nursing program established the Initiative for Vital Practice in response to increasing levels of compassion fatigue (CF) and burnout among faculty and staff during an undergraduate program revision and accompanying leadership transitions. Method: A pilot mixed-method project evaluated self-management practices meant to mitigate CF among faculty and staff. Results: Faculty and staff ( N = 34) identified four primary risk factors for CF, including physical symptoms (14 of 34 = 41%); feeling trapped in work (14 of 34 = 41%); lacking time away from work (11 of 34 = 32%); and inability to work hard enough (10 of 34 = 29%). Individual and organizational stressors and alleviators were analyzed; aggregate scores for three Professional Quality of Life scales presented at a “moderate level.” Conclusion: Preliminary results establish a baseline to measure the effect of burnout and secondary stress and guide further development of our organizational framework and initiative. [ J Nurs Educ . 2022;61(1):46–49.]

Predictive and Associated Factors of Burnout in Nursing Faculty

“…27 Increased levels of burnout cause poor health, and poor health is a predictor of increased burnout. 10,15,18,22,23,28 This review's findings of the impact of burnout on health agree with previous research. Study participants experiencing physical and emotional symptoms of burnout are more likely to self-rate their overall health as poor, 10,15,23 which has been linked to increased mortality, 28 justifying the WHO's decision to upgrade burnout from a symptom to a syndrome in 2019.…”

“…Burnout has also been linked to decreased physical and psychological health in both health care and non–health care occupations 27. Increased levels of burnout cause poor health, and poor health is a predictor of increased burnout 10,15,18,22,23,28. This review's findings of the impact of burnout on health agree with previous research.…”

“…Farber et al23 found themes within qualitative data that indicate nonteaching duties such as class preparation, grading, and answering emails contribute to the heavy workload experienced by nurse educators. Participants from 5 of the 9 reviewed studies listed high workload volume as a reason they would consider leaving academic nursing 10,15,17,22,23…”

“…10,15,23 Conversely, good health status is also correlated with less burnout and an increase in positive measures such as compassion satisfaction. 15,23 In addition, Mintz-Binder and Sanders 18 and Braband et al 22 reported physical manifestations of burnout experienced by study participants including back pain, migraines, depression, hypertension, and difficulty sleeping.…”

“…Participants from 5 of the 9 reviewed studies listed high workload volume as a reason they would consider leaving academic nursing. 10,15,17,22,23…”