Burnout In The Workplace

Perioperative nursing has a high demand among their nursing colleagues. Even though there are departments that are rather demanding mentally or physically, there is pressure to produce quality nursing in surgical services. Surgery has always been a fascination with the general public. However, a worry that most nurses will be concerned with is the lack of personnel.

Physical and mental exhaustion can cause burnout in the workforce. Surgery is no exception. Training for the understanding of electocautery, positioning the patient under anesthesia, environment of care, and learning different types of surgery all while maintaining an electrical chart can be overwhelming. Demands of the surgeon and surgical team while not making a mistake should

be enough to mentally wear out any nurse. Many hospitals have adopted perioperative programs that train nurses into and for the perioperative suit. “Surgical nursing requires specialized training and skills that are not routinely offered as part of the curricula in most nursing schools” (Ball, Doyle, and Oocumma, 2015, p. 116). Many nursing programs do not require training in the surgical suite because of the already packed education. A student nurse may follow a surgical nurse for one day however not a full rotation where they may learn about the surgical environment. (Ball, Doyle, and Oocumma, 2015).
The staffing of surgical services is a demanding field, which would reflect, in the higher pay. Nevertheless, mental and physical burnout is a common attribute in this field. When there are not enough staff, the nurse takes on more of a case loads, less breaks, shorter lunches, and less vacations because the lack of applicants.