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Problem-Based Research Paper

Ashley Altman 

Delaware Tech and Community College 

Nur340-502

T. Layer

November 27, 2022

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In healthcare there are many factors workers have to overcome on a daily basis, but most

recently the biggest issue has become staffing shortages which in returns end with healthcare

worker burnout. In recent years, staffing shortages in healthcare has become at an all-time high

due to many of proceeding factors; lack of support, aging population, lack of faculty, loss of

passion, amongst so much more, and then come COVID-19. Covid caused a whole new stress on

health care workers that just put most workers over the edge. Day after day health workers were

stretched far too thin, fighting against increasing administrative requirements, without the

resources to provide our patients with the care they need. The COVID pandemic rapidly

accelerated the mental health and burnout crisis.

Burnout is an occupational syndrome characterized by a high degree of emotional

exhaustion and depersonalization and a low sense of personal accomplishment at work. Burnout

is associated with risk of mental health challenges, such as anxiety and depression. Even before

the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Academy of Medicine found that burnout was at “crisis

levels” in the U.S. health workforce, with 35-54% of nurses and physicians and 45-60% of

medical students and residents reporting symptoms of burnout (Murthy, V. 2022). Burnout is a

stress reaction marked by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of sense of personal

accomplishment. Burnout can lead to various mental health conditions such as depression,

anxiety disorders, and chronic fatigue syndrome (Savino, H. 2022). Health care burnout and

staffing shortages causes problems throughout the system, it is not just the worker themselves

suffering but the patients, co-workers, facility, and community.

Statement of the Problem

In healthcare, burnout has become so prominent due to staffing shortages that it is has

become a difficult time to care for patients properly. Burnout has caused a huge epidemic when
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it comes to the safety of our patients and the adequacy of care they deserve. Stress has caused so

much hardship on nurses that they are resorting to leaving the healthcare field altogether to try to

save they mental health, which is in return causing the problem of shortage to increase even

further. This burnout to staffing shortage is causing an inevitable vicious cycle that unfortunately

is causing harm to self, patients, co-workers, and facilities.

Literature Review

Healthcare workers put in long, demanding hours and are generally on call even when not

caring for patients. It has become common for healthcare workers to work over their designated

shift times, all while dealing with the stress and anxiety of trying to stay healthy while treating

their patients. Recently, throughout the pandemic, the U.S. has gone through waves of COVID-

19 surges, causing an influx of patients and filling rooms to capacity. As patient numbers

increased, healthcare employees have over worked their shifts and dealt with increased stress.

Nurses have also had to deal with heightened anxiety as they worry about their own health and

their family’s health. In addition, they have the mental stress of dealing with patient lives

(Savino, H. 2022).

In a study done earlier this year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that more

than 275,000 additional nurses will be needed from 2020 to 2030. Employment opportunities for

nurses are projected to grow at a fast rate of 9% more than all other occupations from 2016

through 2026 (Balasubramanian, S. 2022). The pandemic exacerbated burnout among nurses. In

a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, nearly 41% of nurses

reported burnout in 2019; by 2022, the number was over 49%. Burnout can lead directly to

staffing shortages in health care, as people leave the profession. According to a survey by
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staffing agency Incredible Health, 34% of nurses said they would leave their jobs by the end of

2022, with 44% saying that stress and burnout contributed to their decision (USC, 2022).

The shortage of health care nurses is a major concern worldwide. World Health

Organization (WHO) reportedly addressed the issue of the health care provider shortage and how

it will interfere with national and international efforts to enhance the health and well-being of the

population (World Health Organization. 2017). Staffing shortages leading to burnout has contribute

to the high rate of medical errors. Medical errors are considered the 3rd leading cause of death in the

US alone (Terry & Woo, 2020). These medical errors are not unfortunately just causing harm, but

life-long issues, not only for patients but nurses. Patients will have to deal with the side effects that

could have been caused due to the neglectful error made but the nurse, but the nurse can also deal with

the possibility of losing their job and in some cases, their licensure. Staffing shortage and burnout are

a huge issue in the entire world and needs to be addressed more rapidly.

Analysis

Burnout includes 3 key aspects: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low

personal accomplishment. Emotional exhaustion is the state being emotional and physically

exhausted by work stress, characterized by low energy, fatigue, depression, hopelessness, and

helplessness. Depersonalization is the interpersonal aspect of burnout that manifest in unfeeling,

negative behaviors toward others, and detachment from caring for self and others. Low personal

accomplishment is the state of negatively evaluation oneself as being incompetent, unsuccessful,

and inadequate (Muddallal, R. et al., 2017). In this study done by Muddallal and his colleagues,

they researched and surveys 407 Registered Nurses and 11 hospitals. Nurses exhibited high

levels of burnout as demonstrated by their high scores for Emotional Exhaustion (EE) and

Depersonalization (DP) and moderate scores for low Personal Accomplishment (PA) (Muddallal,
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R. et al., 2017). This study gathers good amount of information to show how the three key

aspects of burn out; EE, DP, and PA, where hugely impacted and how the if these aspects were

better served would decrease the probability of burnout in nurses.

Recommendations

In recent efforts to help with the demand of staffing, hospital have enlisted the help of

Military Medical Personnel. At the beginning of 2022, the White House deployed 1,000 military

medical personnel to supplement staff at hospitals across the country. The administration also

deployed clinical response teams around the country. President Biden directed the Federal

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to work with hospitals to expand their capacity. Also

tapped FEMA to operate ambulances that can transport patients to hospitals with more beds

(USC, 2022).

Education and training are a huge priority in healthcare, and unfortunately there is a big

lack of resources across the world. The number of nursing faculties in the country are low in

demand, which results in a reduction in the number of students who can be enrolled in the

nursing programs.

Some proposed short-term strategies to help with staffing shortages to decrease burnout

are recruitment and retention bonus and salaries, and job satisfactions/engagements (letting our

nurses be heard). Some long-term strategies are investing in public health to lessen burden on

hospitals, increase the use of Nurse Practitioners, and the use of telemedicine (USC, 2022).

These are good examples to start the increase of nurses, but it needs to be a full-on

commitment but not only health care facilities but the government as well. Health care

administrations needs to be able to work closely with their local government and their federal
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government to help surpass this long over-due shortage in healthcare and help our nurses with

their mental health so that our patients can receive they quality care they so well deserve.
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Resources

Balasubramanian, S. (2022). The Healthcare Industry is Crumbling Due to Staffing Shortages.

The Healthcare Industry Is Crumbling Due To Staffing Shortages (forbes.com)

Mudallal, R., Othman, W., & Hassan, N. (2017). Nurses’ Burnout: The Influence of Leader

Empowering Behaviors, Work Conditions, and Demographic Traits. Nurses’ Burnout: The

Influence of Leader Empowering Behaviors, Work Conditions, and Demographic Traits -

PMC (nih.gov)

Murthy, V. (2022). Addressing Health Worker Burnout. The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory

on Building a Thriving Health Workforce. Addressing Health Worker Burnout (hhs.gov)

Savino, H. (2022). How Burnout Impacts Healthcare Workers. Patient Safety and Quality

Healthcare. How Burnout Impacts Healthcare Workers - Patient Safety & Quality

Healthcare (psqh.com)

Terry, D., & Woo, M. (2020). Burnout and Staffing Shortage Causes in Nursing. Burnout and

Staffing Shortage Causes in Nursing | Free Essay Example (studycorgi.com)

University of Southern California (USC). (2022). A Public Health Crisis: Staffing Shortage in

Healthcare. A Public Health Crisis: Staffing Shortages in Health Care | USC MPH

World Health Organization. (2017). Working together for Health.

http://www.who.int/whr/2006/whr06_en.pdf?ua=1.