Update: Why Emotions Matter: Age, Agitation, and Burnout among Registered Nurses

[NRSKarenRN]

from ojin:

new article on nursing shortage topic

10/29/07

a new update is now posted to the nursing shortage topic! why emotions matter: age, agitation, and burnout among registered nurses considers how the experience of burnout relates to the nursing shortage and examines the scope of nurses’ emotional experiences. authors erickson and grove contend that these experiences may be particularly consequential for understanding higher levels of burnout reported by younger nurses. their study demonstrated that nurses younger than 30 years of age were more likely to experience feelings of agitation and less likely to engage in techniques to manage these feelings. erickson and grove discuss the need for awareness of emotional demands facing today’s nursing workforce and the need for experienced nurses to serve as emotional mentors to those entering the profession.

all nursingworld visitors have access to new articles posted to previous ojin topics.

read this lastest article...

[mscsrjhm]

It is interesting to read Richard Feynman regarding the explosion of the space shuttle "Challenger", and to compare it to nursing. Engineers, scientist, many others telling those in power that there were safety issues that had to be addressed or there could possibly be disaster. Administration coming to their own conclusions and ignoring these professionals. Challenger went up that day, and we know the consequences.

Many professionals questioned, begged, yelled, and even quit in an effort to change the inevitable, but it was all ineffective.

I think we can compare the two; nursing and an unnecessary, life shattering disaster.

[SweetSue16]

Lindarn, I think your comparison is" right on". Sue

[Katie82, RN]

Another question about the survey would be whether their respondents were somewhat self-selected. In other words, did those who answered tend to be those who "feel" burnout while perhaps those who don't feel it just didn't return the survey?

This is a good point. Same with patient satisfaction surveys. You are much more likely to get a response from a patient who has an axe to grind.