PERCEIVED EFFECTS OF NURSE SHORTAGE AND OCCUPATIONAL BURNOUT ON PATIENT CARE AMONG NURSES IN BABCOCK UNIVERSITY TEACHING ILISAN REMO OGUN STATE, OGUN STATE.
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Adequate and good staffing is fundamental in enhancing quality patient care and reducing workload in Nursing. Nursing shortage occurs when the demand for nursing professionals exceeds the supply of services within the healthcare. It compromises patients care and influences the nurse’s wellbeing leading to negative impacts such as burnout, limited patient care and job dissatisfaction. Occupational burnout on the other hand has long been recognized as a major problem within the professional sphere of current life and has become much more predominant in the past decade. Occupational burnout is a condition that produces several effects in a person’s physical, psychological and social life that can lead to a decrease in quality of patient care, work absenteeism, low spirit and ultimately quitting the job.
The objective of this study is to identify the perceived effects of nurse shortage and occupational burnout on patients care among nurses in Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilisan Remo Ogun State.
This study adopted a descriptive design which involved 160 respondents working at Babcock University Teaching Hospital. Data was collected with a self- structured and standardized questionnaire derived from the literature review.
The study showed that nurses agreed that nurse shortage and burnout lead to an increase in mortality and morbidity rate (50%), decreased quality of patient care (43.8%), delays in patient care (25%) and commission of medical errors (43.8%). It was also found out that high turnover ratio is one major factor responsible for nurse shortage (50%), another factor is occupational injury and burnout (51%).
There is need to employ enough nurses, improve leadership support and reduce the workload on nurses and improve patient care. Necessary measure should be put in place to improve the healthcare system, reduce the shortage of nurses and reduce the rate of occupational burnout.
Keywords: Perceived effects, Nursing shortage, Occupational burnout, Patient care.
Word count: 293
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