Reducing Burnout in Nursing: Implementation of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention

Objective: To decrease nursing burnout in a rural hospital setting. Background: Burnout increases the rate of turnover, lowers patient satisfaction scores, and increases costs. An estimated 15.6% of nurses are experiencing burnout at an annual cost of 9 billion dollars for hospitals. Local Problem: A rural hospital in Tennessee without a burnout reduction program available to staff. Methods: The Iowa Model Revised was utilized to implement a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Invention/Measurements: The Palouse mindfulness-based stress reduction program was utilized for this evidence-based practice project. The online course spans eight weeks and includes videos, reading materials, and worksheets. The program takes approximately 50 hours to complete. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory measured burnout pre-implementation and post-implementation. Results: Paired t-tests were performed to compare pre-implementation burnout and post-implementation burnout. Participants had a statistically significant improvement in burnout in all three areas measured by the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory: personal (p=.014), work related (p=.024), and client related (p=.008). Nine participants completed the pre-implementation and post-implementation surveys. Of those nine, 66% completed at least half of the content in the program. Conclusion: The use of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program resulted in a statistically significant decrease in burnout amongst nurses in this setting.

A publication of this project can be found in the Tennessee Nurse.