Inpatient pediatric nursing staff experiences treating psychiatric patients: A mixed methods study

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Psychiatric Care
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Increasing numbers of pediatric psychiatric patients present unique challenges.
• The impact on general pediatric nursing staff is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of increased pediatric psychiatric admissions on inpatient general medicine pediatric nursing staff.
• To identify factors contributing to stress and burnout in this population.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-method study involving surveys (Professional Quality of Life Scale, Support Appraisal for Work Stressors) and semistructured interviews.
• Participants included pediatric nurses and nursing assistants on general pediatric units.

Main Results:

• Nurses reported lower compassion satisfaction and higher burnout compared to other roles.
• Inadequate supervisor and nonwork support correlated significantly with compassion satisfaction and burnout.
• Key themes from interviews included barriers to care, emotional impact, and a need for better support.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric nurses are at increased risk for compassion fatigue.
• Perceived inadequate leadership support, role ambiguity, and resource limitations contribute to this risk.