Nurse Burnout and Patient Safety

Nurse Burnout and Patient Safety

1. Identify a Clinical Phenomenon of Interest
   • Reflect on your individual and group clinical experiences.
   • Select a problem or issue that is meaningful, observable in practice, and worthy of study.
2. Clarify the Topic
   • Research the selected phenomenon of interest using current literature.
   • Discuss the significance of this issue in nursing practice.
3. Define Key Variables
   • Choose at least two independent and two dependent variables related to your topic.
   • Clearly label and describe each variable.
4. Formulate the Research Question
   • Based on your topic and variables, develop a focused, researchable question(quantitative format).
   • Ensure the question is clear, measurable, and aligned with your group’s area of interest.
5. Develop Hypotheses
   • Write both:
6. • • Research hypothesis (H₁)– what you expect to find.
     • Null hypothesis (H₀)– the assumption that there is no relationship or difference.
   • These must be submitted as a pair. Nurse Burnout and Patient Safety

Clinical Phenomenon of Interest

The selected clinical phenomenon is nurse burnout and its relationship to patient safety outcomes. Burnout is a meaningful and observable issue in nursing practice, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced professional accomplishment. It is highly prevalent among nurses due to heavy workloads, long shifts, and emotionally demanding care responsibilities. This issue is worthy of study because it directly impacts nurse well-being, staff retention, and the quality and safety of patient care.

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Clarification of the Topic

Current literature highlights that nurse burnout is strongly associated with increased medical errors, reduced patient satisfaction, and poor organizational outcomes (Dall’Ora et al., 2020). In practice, burnout contributes to decreased quality of care, higher turnover, and increased costs for healthcare systems. Addressing burnout is significant for nursing because it aligns with professional goals of ensuring safe, effective, and compassionate patient care while supporting a sustainable nursing workforce.

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Key Variables

• Independent Variables (IVs):

  1. Nurse-to-patient staffing ratio

  2. Length of nurse shifts (hours worked per week)

• Dependent Variables (DVs):

  1. Frequency of reported patient safety incidents (e.g., falls, medication errors)

  2. Patient satisfaction scores (measured by standardized surveys such as HCAHPS)

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Research Question

In hospital settings, how do nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and length of nurse shifts affect patient safety incidents and patient satisfaction scores?

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Hypotheses

• Research Hypothesis (H₁):
  Higher nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and longer nurse shifts are significantly associated with increased patient safety incidents and lower patient satisfaction scores.

• Null Hypothesis (H₀):
  Nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and length of nurse shifts have no significant effect on patient safety incidents or patient satisfaction scores.

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Reference (example in APA 7th):
Dall’Ora, C., Ball, J., Reinius, M., & Griffiths, P. (2020). Burnout in nursing: A theoretical review. Human Resources for Health, 18(1), 41. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-020-00469-9

What clinical phenomenon is selected and why is it significant?, What does the current literature say about the issue?, What are the key independent and dependent variables?, What is the formulated quantitative research question?, What are the research and null hypotheses?

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