1-s2 - study
Quality Improvement (Utica
College)
, Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
N U R S O U T L O O K 6 9 ( 2 0 2 1 ) 9 6 —1 0 2
Impact of nurse burnout on organizational
and position turnover
Lesly A. Kelly, PhD, RN, FAANa,b,1*, Perry M. Gee, PhD, RNa,b,c,d,2,
Richard J. Butler, PhDe,f
a
CommonSpirit Health, Phoenix, AZ
b
Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix,
AZ cIntermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, UT
d
College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
e
Department of Economics, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
f
Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, China
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Article history: Background: The National Academies of Medicine describes clinician burnout as a
Received 12 February serious threat to organizational health, including employee turnover.
2020 Received in revised Purpose: To determine the relationship between resilience, burnout, and organiza-
form 9 June 2020 tional and position turnover.
Accepted 16 June 2020 Methods: We surveyed direct care nurses in three hospitals 1 year apart between
Available online October 4, 2020. 2018 and 2019; 1,688 nurses completed 3,135 surveys included in analysis.
Findings: Fifty-four percent of nurses in our sample suffer from moderate burnout,
Keywords:
Nursing with emotional exhaustion scores increasing by 10% and cynicism scores
Burnout increasing 19% after 1 year. The impact of burnout on organizational turnover
Turnover was significant, with a 12% increase in a nurse leaving for each unit increase on
Resilience the emotional exhaustion scale, though it was not a factor in position turnover.
Discussion: These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence of nurse
Wellbeing
burnout and support policies and programs for annual measurement of burnout,
increased employee wellbeing support, and improved work environments.
Cite this article: Kelly, L.A., Gee, P.M., & Butler, R.J. (2021, January/February). Impact of nurse burnout on
organizational and position turnover. Nurs Outlook, 69(1), 96—102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
outlook.2020.06.008.
Introduction and Background
are experiencing burnout, with likelihood of personal
consequence, job dysfunction, and potential risk to
patients (Dyerbye et al., 2017). An increase in aware-
Nursing burnout is a deleterious and consequential ness, including the National Academy of Medicine’s
syndrome that affects not only the individuals, but establishment of the Action Collaborative on Clinician
also the organization and patients in which those Wellbeing and Resilience (National Academy of Medicine
nurses labor. As many as half of the nursing workforce
Declarations of Interest: None.
*Corresponding author. Lesly A.Kelly, PhD, RN, FAAN, CommonSpirit Health, 3033 North 3rd Avenue, Phoenix, AZ
85013. E-mail address: (L.A. Kelly).
1
Dr. Kelly conducted the research in both her positions at ASU and CommonSpirit Health.
2
Dr. Gee conducted the research in his position at CommonSpirit Health and has since moved into his new position at Intermountain
Healthcare.
0029-6554/$ -see front matter © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2020.06.008
Quality Improvement (Utica
College)
, Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
N U R S O U T L O O K 6 9 ( 2 0 2 1 ) 9 6 —1 0 2
Impact of nurse burnout on organizational
and position turnover
Lesly A. Kelly, PhD, RN, FAANa,b,1*, Perry M. Gee, PhD, RNa,b,c,d,2,
Richard J. Butler, PhDe,f
a
CommonSpirit Health, Phoenix, AZ
b
Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix,
AZ cIntermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, UT
d
College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
e
Department of Economics, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
f
Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, China
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Article history: Background: The National Academies of Medicine describes clinician burnout as a
Received 12 February serious threat to organizational health, including employee turnover.
2020 Received in revised Purpose: To determine the relationship between resilience, burnout, and organiza-
form 9 June 2020 tional and position turnover.
Accepted 16 June 2020 Methods: We surveyed direct care nurses in three hospitals 1 year apart between
Available online October 4, 2020. 2018 and 2019; 1,688 nurses completed 3,135 surveys included in analysis.
Findings: Fifty-four percent of nurses in our sample suffer from moderate burnout,
Keywords:
Nursing with emotional exhaustion scores increasing by 10% and cynicism scores
Burnout increasing 19% after 1 year. The impact of burnout on organizational turnover
Turnover was significant, with a 12% increase in a nurse leaving for each unit increase on
Resilience the emotional exhaustion scale, though it was not a factor in position turnover.
Discussion: These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence of nurse
Wellbeing
burnout and support policies and programs for annual measurement of burnout,
increased employee wellbeing support, and improved work environments.
Cite this article: Kelly, L.A., Gee, P.M., & Butler, R.J. (2021, January/February). Impact of nurse burnout on
organizational and position turnover. Nurs Outlook, 69(1), 96—102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
outlook.2020.06.008.
Introduction and Background
are experiencing burnout, with likelihood of personal
consequence, job dysfunction, and potential risk to
patients (Dyerbye et al., 2017). An increase in aware-
Nursing burnout is a deleterious and consequential ness, including the National Academy of Medicine’s
syndrome that affects not only the individuals, but establishment of the Action Collaborative on Clinician
also the organization and patients in which those Wellbeing and Resilience (National Academy of Medicine
nurses labor. As many as half of the nursing workforce
Declarations of Interest: None.
*Corresponding author. Lesly A.Kelly, PhD, RN, FAAN, CommonSpirit Health, 3033 North 3rd Avenue, Phoenix, AZ
85013. E-mail address: (L.A. Kelly).
1
Dr. Kelly conducted the research in both her positions at ASU and CommonSpirit Health.
2
Dr. Gee conducted the research in his position at CommonSpirit Health and has since moved into his new position at Intermountain
Healthcare.
0029-6554/$ -see front matter © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2020.06.008
