Introduction
One of the main issues affecting the nursing practice is nurse burnout. Nurse burnout refers to the physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion among nurses due to prolonged work periods and excessive stress in the workplace. The healthcare environment is often busy and stressful since nurses have to attend to the several patients that seek healthcare services (Jun et al., 2021). Often nurses are overwhelmed by the high workload, which results in physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. The exhaustion leads to the deterioration of the physical and psychological health of the nurses and negatively impacts the quality of healthcare services delivered to the patients. It is, therefore, critical that the issue is addressed to improve the well-being of the nurses and ensure the delivery of quality healthcare services (Jun et al., 2021).
Rationale
According to Shah et al. (2021), burnouts are a major concern for nurses across the US. Nurses are the frontline workers in the healthcare setting. Therefore, any negative impact on their psychological and physical well-being is likely to significantly impact the quality of healthcare services delivered to the patients. The researchers noted that poor staff-patient ratios are a major cause of nurse burnout. Jun et al. (2021) hold that nurse burnout contributes to increased absenteeism, lower job satisfaction, and depersonalization of nurses. This leads to decreased productivity among healthcare providers, and patients experience poor outcomes such as increased healthcare costs. Therefore, it is critical that the nurse burnout challenge is addressed.
Resource Appraisal
Several articles have researched the topic of nurse burnout. Shah et al. (2021) evaluated the prevalence and the factors associated with nurse burnout in the US. They found that burnouts were high among the nurses. 34.1% reported experiencing emotional exhaustion, 31.5% reported depersonalization, and 43.8% reported low personal accomplishments. The researchers also found that job demands, inadequate supervisory support, and lack of autonomy were among the factors contributing to nurse burnout. Jun et al. (2021) evaluated the relationship between nurse burnout and its impacts on patient outcomes and the organization. They found that nurse burnout was associated with negative impacts such as decreased patient satisfaction, low quality of care services, increased incidence of safety concerns, and decreased commitment of nurses towards their responsibilities. The study also established that burnout was related to increased turnover rates and absenteeism in the workplace.
Scopes and Standards
Nurse burnout applies to the scope and standards of professional nursing practice. The scope of nursing defines the role of nurses in the healthcare setting and who they are. Nurses are expected to provide patients with holistic and quality healthcare services while practicing self-care (ANA & AHNA, 2019). Self-care ensures that nurses do not suffer from burnout and, therefore, can deliver quality healthcare services. The Standards of Practice outline the expectations for professional nursing practice, including maintaining a healthy work environment and engaging in ongoing professional development to prevent nurse burnout (ANA & AHNA, 2019).
Legal Implications
Burnouts among nurses have critical legal implications for nurses and organizations. Nurses experiencing burnout are likely to commit medical errors during healthcare delivery. Families of the affected patient can therefore initiate legal actions against the organizations and the nurses for such medical errors, leading to serious lawsuits. Nurses are also at risk of losing their licenses based on the state they practice. Nursing is highly regulated by the law, and medical errors break the set laws, attracting serious legal implications. To prevent such events, strategies such as minimum off-duty periods must be established to ensure adequate rest to prevent the negative impacts of burnout.
Ethical implications
Nurse burnout is related to ethical principles such as non-maleficence. This principle requires that healthcare providers and organizations do not intentionally harm patients through their actions. Allowing nurses experiencing burnout to continue treating patients violates the principle of non-maleficence (Richemonde et al., 2022). Healthcare organizations have a responsibility to ensure that all healthcare providers are fit to provide quality healthcare services. Therefore, organizations are ethically liable for allowing healthcare providers to work when they are experiencing burnout. Also, nurses are ethically liable for not reporting to the relevant authorities about their status, posing risks to patients and other healthcare providers (Richemonde et al., 2022).
Impact: Finance
Burnouts negatively impact healthcare finances. Burnouts are associated with high nurse turnover rates and turnover intention. Therefore, healthcare facilities have to spend more money replacing the employees who decide to quit or trying to retain those with intentions of quitting. Legal arbitration fees that arise from medical errors and conflicts due to nurse burnouts are also high, causing the facilities to spend more money (Kelly et al., 2021). These resources can instead be used to improve the delivery of healthcare services leading to increased efficiency and better patient outcomes. Burnouts also negatively impact the patient’s finances. Due to the poor quality of care services, patients must spend more on corrective therapy and longer hospital stays, making healthcare more expensive and inaccessible for most patients (Kelly et al., 2021).
Impact: Quality Patient Care
Generally, burnouts impede the quality of care due to increasing medical errors and the inability of nurses to offer empathetic care. Burnouts hinder the ability of care providers to make proper decisions. This results in errors in communication, medications, and other aspects of healthcare delivery, leading to poor quality outcomes (Kelly, 2022). Burnouts also contribute to compassion fatigue, often expressed through the inability of care providers to be empathetic towards their patients. Nurses cannot adequately address the patients’ clinical and non-clinical needs, leading to poor patient experience (Kelly, 2022).
Impact: Nursing Safety Challenges
Burnouts present significant safety concerns for nurses. Burnouts increase the risk for mental illnesses; Janeway (2020) found that nurses are 2 times more likely to develop depression compared to other care providers. They also increase the risk of workplace violence leading to an unconducive work environment. Physical and emotional abuse contributes to decreased morale among care providers leading to low-quality healthcare services (Janeway, 2020).
Concepts and Solutions: Interprofessional Collaboration
Interprofessional collaboration can be used to over the issue of burnout among nurses. It reduces the burden of caring for individual team members, reducing the emotional burden on each member (Al Sabei et al., 2022). It also facilitates sharing ideas on coping mechanisms among the team members; hence, the nurses learn strategies to cope effectively with stress. Also, collaboration with other people is likely to lead to positive outcomes, reduce feelings of negativity, and increases job satisfaction. Therefore, collaboration reduces burnout (De Sutter et al., 2019).

Concept Outside of Nursing: External Theory
The conservation of resources theory can be utilized to explain nurse burnout. The theory holds that individuals are stressed when they perceive a potential loss or experience a loss of four resources. Objects are the first resources that include economic benefits. Nurses who think they will lose their jobs will likely develop burnout (Prapanjaroensin et al., 2017). The second resource is conditions which include social and health relationships. Personal characteristics such as coping mechanisms are the third resource, and losing this resource increases the risk of burnout. Energy resource such as time influences the level of stress in nurses. When the nurses perceive a loss of any of the four resources, the risk of stress increases, leading to burnout (Prapanjaroensin et al., 2017).
Concepts and Solutions: Nursing Concept
Nursing theories such as Sister Callista Roy’s adaptation model of nursing can be used to develop a framework for preventing and managing nursing burnout. The theory comprises four pillars, including nurses’ self-care, community interdependence, professional practice, and improved patient outcomes (Browning, 2020). According to the self-care pillar, nurses should learn to recognize and care for their physiological and psychological needs. The interdependence pillar holds that nurses should create a community by sharing values to achieve a common goal. Nurses should also develop self-identity. By improving patient outcomes, nurses can avoid the trauma and stress associated with poor care, reducing burnout. Therefore, the theory can be used to address burnout among nurses (Browning, 2020).
Concepts and Solutions: Nursing Metaparadigm Concepts
The four nursing metaparadigm concepts can be used to address burnout in nurses. A conducive work environment eases nurses’ pressure in care delivery, lowering the risk of burnout. Ensuring sufficient personnel in healthcare facilities reduces nurses’ workload, reducing the risk of burnout (Aryankhesal et al., 2019). Healthy relationships between nurses and patients can also reduce the risk of burnout. Effective relationships promote effective communication, reducing conflict and related stress and decreasing burnout. Nurses’ physical and psychological health is an important consideration in assigning duties. Leaders should ensure they allocate duties to nurses based on their capacity and abilities to avoid exposing them to unnecessary work-related stress and burnout (De Oliveira et al., 2019).
Concepts and Solutions: Evidence-Based Recommended Solutions
Some of the recommendations for burnout in the workplace include better workplace management and psychological interventions. Workplace management includes efficient communication, teamwork, and other interventions to improve the work experience for nurses. Psychological interventions include activities such as yoga and meditation, which enhances nurses’ resilience reducing the risk of burnout (De Oliveira et al., 2019).
Conclusion: Review of Issue
Burnout among nurses is a critical challenge in healthcare settings. Increased workloads and poor staff-patient ratios are major contributors to burnout. Burnouts are associated with several negative impacts on patients’ well-being and individual nurses’ physical and mental well-being. Burnout has been shown to increase the risk of medical errors, mental illnesses such as depression, and increased cost of medical services. It also increases the risk of legal issues. However, with appropriate interventions, burnout can be prevented. Intervention includes efficient workplace management and psychological interventions. These interventions increase the resilience of the nurses reducing the risk of workplace burnout.

References
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