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The relationship between UK hospital nurse staffing and emotional exhaustion and job dissatisfaction
Author(s) -
SHEWARD LOUISA,
HUNT JENNIFER,
HAGEN SUZANNE,
MACLEOD MARGARET,
BALL JANE
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of nursing management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1365-2834
pISSN - 0966-0429
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2004.00460.x
Subject(s) - workload , emotional exhaustion , nursing , staffing , job dissatisfaction , questionnaire , restructuring , economic shortage , medicine , psychology , job satisfaction , burnout , clinical psychology , social psychology , business , social science , linguistics , philosophy , finance , sociology , government (linguistics) , computer science , operating system
Aim To explore the relationship between nurse outcomes (dissatisfaction and emotional exhaustion) and nurse workload, nurse characteristics and hospital variables. Background Concern about the impact of restructuring of nurse staffing, and reports of nurse shortages, on nurse and patient outcomes led to the research being reported on in this article. Methods A questionnaire survey of registered nurses in Scotland and England. A questionnaire survey of the hospitals in which these nurses worked. Results Respondents in the two countries were similar in terms of demographic, work and employment characteristics. Significant relationships were found using the combined English and Scottish data between nurse patient ratios and (1) emotional exhaustion and (2) dissatisfaction with current job reported by nurses. Conclusions Increasing numbers of patients to nurses was associated with increasing risk of emotional exhaustion and dissatisfaction with current job.