Predictors of burnout in professional and paraprofessional nurses working in hospitals and nursing homes.

Burnout is a phenomenon in which the cumulative effects of a stressful work environment gradually overwhelm the defenses of staff members, forcing them to psychologically withdraw. To understand the experience of professional and paraprofessional nurses suffering from burnout requires a close examination of the environments in which they function. This study examined interpersonal, intrapersonal and situational factors expected to contribute to the six dimensions of burnout among nursing staff who worked in acute care and long-term care health facilities. The sample included 312 professional and paraprofessional nurses. The following research question was explored using a series of stepwise multiple regression analyses: of the following variables interpersonal (professional exposure to patients with poor prognosis for survival, work relationships, informal support), intrapersonal (coping strategies, fear of death, comfort working with patients with poor prognosis for survival) and situational (personal and work demographics), which are the significant predictors of the six dimensions of burnout in professional and paraprofessional nurses? Findings revealed that work relationships and tension-releasing and instrumental problem-focused coping were the most powerful predictors of burnout. Based upon this, it was concluded that nursing burnout is both an organizational and a personal problem. Recommendations for practice are presented.