Hospital Nurse Burnout

1. Burnout has been described as ‘a psychological syndrome of exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy which is experienced in response to chronic job stressors’ (Maslach 2004, p 93). It is the primary cause of poor quality of care (Ivancevich et. al 2014). If I was in charge of socializing the newly hired nurses at a local hospital, the following steps are the ones I will take to ensure that the newly hired nurses understand the hospital’s organization culture:

I will ensure that the hospital recruit using realistic job previews following the hospital core values.

I will make sure that the company only selects the job applicant which best meets the demands of the job, fits with the work environment and the culture of the hospital.

I will provide a
tailor- made or individualized orientation day during which the hospital’s culture and benefits will be explained.

During the orientation, I will emphasize that the hospital values employee-manager relationship, explain what the hospital is expecting from them, provide a senior nurse to mentor them and stress that the hospital offers professional counseling and support to help them cope with stress.

After the orientation, I will be monitoring, analyzing and evaluating the progress of the newly hired nurses and celebrate their accomplishments.
2. A unique challenge that hospitals face when attempting to create a supportive organizational culture that helps employees reduce and manage their stress levels is the fact that regardless of their efforts, some people will not be saved and will end up dying. Another one is when they have to announce to the patient or its relatives that he/she has a terminal illness and does not have much long to live. Additionally, employees are under pressure to avoid malpractice and mistakes.

3. I believe that my organization’s attempt to create a certain type of organizational culture is successful. The company values safety and a healthy working environment for its miners. It only hires people who are fit to perform the task associated with the mining environment. It provides training to educate the miners on safety while working in the mines. To continuously improve the working environment, the company uses an open door policy by creating a friendly environment and open suggestion boxes for employees.
During orientation, the company’s culture and expectations are
explained.

References
Maslach C. (2004) Different perspectives on job burnout. Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books 49(2), 168– 170.
Ivancevich, J. M., Konopaske, R., & Matteson, M. T. (2014). Organizational behavior and management (10th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.