Burnout and Turnover among NICU Nurses

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Occupational Health

Background:

• High nurse turnover rates in the US (17.8% in 2019) incur significant costs ($270,800 per 1% increase).
• Nurse burnout is a known factor in turnover intention, but its specific relationship with actual turnover in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) is understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between nurse burnout and turnover among neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses.
• To address the data gap regarding burnout and turnover in specialized NICU environments.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of data from an observational study (2013-2014) involving 136 NICU nurses.
• Multivariate logistic regression models were employed to assess the relationship between burnout measures and turnover.

Main Results:

• A turnover rate of 16.9% was observed among NICU nurses during the study period.
• A significant proportion of nurses reported moderate (37%) to high (46%) levels of emotional exhaustion.
• Statistical analysis did not reveal a significant association between burnout and actual nurse turnover in the NICU.

Conclusions:

• Despite the lack of a direct link between burnout and turnover in this NICU cohort, burnout may contribute to other negative outcomes.
• Nurse leaders should prioritize initiatives to mitigate burnout, aiming to enhance the overall well-being of the NICU nursing workforce.
• Further research may be needed to explore indirect effects of burnout on NICU nurse retention.