What's behind cardiovascular nurse burnout?

The drivers behind burnout in cardiovascular nursing require country- and systemwide interventions unique to the speciality, according to a statement published Dec. 18 in the Journal of the American Heart Association

Here are 10 things to know:

  1. The American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, the Council on Clinical Cardiology and the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health collaborated on the scientific statement.

  2. More than 110,000 U.S. registered nurses and advanced practice registered nurses specialize in cardiovascular and neurological care.

  3. The statement identified specific stressors and corresponding interventions for three nursing roles: clinical or staff nurses, academic nurses and nurse scientists.

  4. Stressors experienced by clinical cardiovascular nurses are:

    • Organizational (environmental): Underresourced working conditions, high patient workload, inadequate care processes or policies, lack of autonomy, rapid patient turnover, low salaries and stressful work environment

    • Organizational (management style): Does not support control over practice or staff autonomy, inadequate staff collaboration, low organizational justice, discrimination, none or inadequate clinical ladder and inflexible or demanding work schedule

    • Patient‐care factors: Coping with families and care partners, life‐threatening situations, high patient comorbidities and nurse knowledge level to support patient needs

  5. Stressors experienced by academic cardiovascular nurses are:

    • College or university (institutional): Incivility, low salaries, increased workloads (teaching and service), increased student demands, high expectations for promotion and tenure, lack of diverse faculty and unsupportive work environment (director or dean)

  1. Stressors experienced by cardiovascular nurse scientists are:

    • University/college or health care system: Competing demands of teaching and service or clinical practice, competitive research funding, low salaries, increased research mentoring of students and early career faculty, and demands for tenure and promotions (publications and presentations)

  1. Intervention strategies to address burnout for clinical cardiovascular nurses are:

    • Mentorship and leadership training
    • Technology to minimize documentation burden
    • Nursing- or unit‐based resources
    • Established workload policies/patient assignments mandated by law
    • Effective teamwork and communication
    • Flexible scheduling
    • Improved nurse promotional ladders
    • Autonomy in unit decision‐making recognition for achievements

  1. Intervention strategies to address burnout for academic cardiovascular nurses are:

    • Educational support based on entry skill set (instructional platforms, simulation, clinical training tools, and grading rubrics) and classroom management (in-person versus remote)
    • Competency‐based training on undergraduate and graduate‐level teaching
    • Leadership mentoring
    • Equitable compensation and educational debt‐relief programs
    • Reduced teaching and service load for early career faculty
    • Establish academic practice partnerships to bridge the faculty gap

  1. Intervention strategies to address burnout for cardiovascular nurse scientists are:

    • Discretionary startup funding
    • Support to transition to independent investigator
    • Access to mentorship throughout career stages
    • Indirect research support (grant writing and review, graphic and statistical support)
    • Negotiated protected time
    • Compensation and recognition for clinical work
    • Allocating travel assistance to disseminate research findings
    • Access to research office and laboratory space
    • Equitable compensation and educational debt‐relief programs

  1. "With the critical shortage of nurses in all roles, stress, exhaustion and burnout threatens the sustainability and well‐being of the nursing profession," the statement authors wrote. "The future of cardiovascular health and healthcare systems relies on well‐educated and experienced staff nurses, APRNs, academic educators and nurse scientists."

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