Burn-out in hospital nurses: a comparison of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, oncology, general medical, and intensive care unit nurse samples.

Previous research has shown that job-related stress and burn-out are associated with high levels of demand placed on the worker, especially in situations where influence is low. This study examined burn-out among nurses working on acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) special care units (SCUs), oncology SCUs, medical intensive care units (ICUs) and general medical units to measure the extent to which delivery method (SCU, ICU, and general unit), patient diagnosis, or other key personal and work-related characteristics were associated with the level of distress in these nurses. A sample of 237 nurses from 18 units in seven hospitals were surveyed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. This study showed no significant differences in burn-out scores across nurse samples representing variations in patient diagnosis and delivery method. Specifically, nurses on AIDS SCUs, oncology SCUs, medical ICUs, and general medical nursing units reported similar levels of distress on the burn-out subscales. There was one exception: medical ICU nurses scored significantly lower on the Personal Accomplishment subscale (P < .001). Regression analyses for the Emotional Exhaustion and Personal Accomplishment subscales indicated that greater job influence had a significant protective effect on emotional exhaustion and enhanced personal accomplishment (P < .05). As expected, job tension was a key predictor of exhaustion (P < .001), and being white was associated with greater feelings of accomplishment (P < .002). Working in a medical ICU continued to show a negative impact on accomplishment when race and other important covariates were controlled for (P < .05), and working on an AIDS SCU was predictive of exhaustion in a multivariate context (P < .05).