ER Nurses and Burnout Rates Since the Pandemic
Burnout for ER nurses has become an increasingly important healthcare issue. Emergency departments are fast-paced environments characterized by unpredictable patient conditions, overcrowding, long shifts, traumatic events and high workloads. While burnout was already a concern before COVID-19, evidence from the past six years shows that the pandemic placed enormous pressure on emergency nurses and the wider healthcare workforce. Before the pandemic, burnout among emergency nurses was already substantial. A systematic review of 17 studies found that approximately 26% of emergency nurses experienced burnout . The researchers identified workload, organizational factors, limited job control, insufficient social support and exposure to traumatic events as important contributors. ( PubMed ) 2020 marked a major shift. During the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency-department healthcare workers experienced substantially higher burnout than before the pandemic. A systematic review ...