OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to describe the level of nurse burnout in critical care units and emergency departments and to analyze the relation between intensity of burnout and sociodemographic, workplace, and psychological factors.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Survey of a sample of emergency and critical care nurses in Andalusia, Spain. Sociodemographic and work variables as well as personality type, anxiety, depression, and level of burnout.
RESULTS
. Of a total of 1721 critical care and emergency nurses in Andalusia, 337 (19.5%) were surveyed. A high level of burnout was detected in 38.5%. Emotional exhaustion was present in 10.5% of the sample, depersonalization in 16.8%, and a low level of personal accomplishment in 63.3%. A high burnout score was significantly associated with personality factors and depression.
CONCLUSION
More than a third of emergency and critical care nurses experience a high level of burnout. Personality factors and high levels of depression are associated with burnout in nurses.