Factors influencing burnout and job stress among military nurses

Burnout among military nurses has been found to lead to job absenteeism, staff conflicts, and a high turnover of personnel. Factors influencing nurses working in smaller and often isolated military installations of the South African National Defence Force were investigated using a job-stress and burnout questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. Investigation focused on registration categories, geographic location, and age. It was found that the senior registration categories experienced more burnout, and nurses in isolated areas reported almost double the number of cases of burnout than nurses in larger centers. Age played a role in the very young (19-25 years) and older (40-50 years) nurses. The lack of support from supervisors, high responsibility, long working hours, and task overload were the four most common stressors reported. Some suggestions are forwarded to manage the risk of burnout among military nurses in similar situations.