Pathways linking emergency department work environment to nurse's burnout: The mediating effects of teamwork and...

Emergency departments are high-intensity environments marked by unpredictable patient inflow and frequent interruptions. Although burnout among emergency nurses is well-documented, the pathways linking the work environment to burnout remain insufficiently understood.

This study aimed to determine whether the nursing work environment is associated with burnout among emergency nurses through the lenses of teamwork and perceived workload.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 156 emergency department nurses from general and tertiary hospitals in South Korea. A sequential multiple mediation analysis was performed using the PROCESS Macro Model 6 with 5000 bootstrap samples.

A favorable nursing work environment was directly associated with lower levels of burnout and indirectly related to burnout through teamwork and workload. Both teamwork and workload independently mediated this relationship; however, the sequential pathway from teamwork to workload was not significant.

Burnout among emergency nurses reflects both organizational conditions and individual susceptibility. Prevention strategies should focus on enhancing the nursing work environment and managing workloads, while also acknowledging teamwork as a crucial organizational resource in emergency care settings.