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 found that burnout among emergency-medicine healthcare workers was approximately 37% before the pandemic compared with 58% during the pandemic. Nurses were particularly affected, with a pooled burnout prevalence of approximately 47% in studies involving different types of emergency workers. (PubMed Central (PMC)

Evidence from 2021 and 2022 suggests that burnout remained extremely high rather than quickly returning to pre-pandemic levels. A large systematic review and meta-analysis of more than 110,000 nurses estimated overall burnout at 47% in 2020 and 52% in 2022. Nurses working in emergency departments and intensive-care units also had higher burnout scores than nurses working in general wards. (PubMed Central (PMC)

It is important, however, to recognize different studies use different definitions, questionnaires and populations to measure burnout. Consequently, the available evidence shows a broad pattern: burnout increased dramatically during the pandemic, remained high through 2022, and has subsequently shown signs of improvement.

What have you noticed in your department? 

More recent U.S. nursing data provide evidence of that improvement. The 2024 National Nursing Workforce Survey reported that the percentage of registered nurses who felt burned out from work every day or a few times per week decreased from 45.2% in 2022 to 35.4% in 2024. However, this survey covers registered nurses broadly rather than ER nurses specifically, so the figures should not be interpreted as an ER-only rate. (DOI)

Reducing ER nurse burnout therefore requires more than individual stress-management strategies. Hospitals need sustainable staffing levels, manageable workloads, supportive leadership and resources that allow nurses to provide safe, high-quality care without sacrificing their own well-being.

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