Burnout levels of hemodialysis nurses

Background: Previous studies have found significant stressors experienced by nurses working in hemodialysis units. The purpose of this study was to determine the burnout levels of hemodialysis nurses working in hemodialysis units and their relation with some sociodemographic variables. Methods: The study was conducted between July 2012 and Sept 2012 in hemodialysis units of four hospitals, including one university, one public and two private hospitals, in the province of Erzurum. The population of the study consisted of 32 nurses rendering service in hemodialysis units of the related hospitals. Information forms, which were prepared by researchers in accordance with the literature, and aimed at determining the personal characteristics of nurses and Maslach Burnout Inventory were used for the data collection. Results: Examining mean scores obtained by nurses from the Maslach Burnout Inventory, it is observed that they scored 17.07 +/- 8.29 from subscale of emotional exhaustion, 5.89 +/- 4.13 from subscale of depersonalization and 20.64 +/- 4.10 from subscale of personal accomplishment. Conclusion: The results of the study revealed that nurses working in hemodialysis units experience a medium-level burnout in terms of subscales of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a high-level burnout in terms of the subscale of personal accomplishment.