Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

    Background & Aim: Intense and long-standing problems in burn centers in Tehran have led nurses to burnout. This phenomenon has provoked serious responses and has put the nurses, patients and the organization under pressure. The challenge for managers and nursing executives is to understand the factors which would reduce or increase the nurses’ responses to burnout and develop delivery systems that promote positive adaptation and facilitate the quality of care. This study, as a part of an extensive research, aims to explore and describe the nurses’ perceptions of the factors affecting their responses to burnout. Patients & Method: This qualitative study made use of grounded theory as a research method. Thirty-eight participants were recruited through purposeful and theoretical sampling. Data was collected by unstructured interviews and 21 sessions of participant observation during all working shifts. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed by computer and observations were documented as field notes on special forms. Constant comparison was used for data analysis. Open, axial, and selective coding were done and then core category, sub-categories and their attributes emerged. Results: The results revealed that nurses’ and patients’ personal characteristics and social support influenced nurses’ responses to burnout. Personal characteristics of the nurses and patients, especially when interacting, had a more powerful effect. They altered emotional, attitudinal, behavioral and organizational responses to burnout and determined the kind of caring behavior. Social support had a palliative effect and altered emotional responses and some aspects of attitudinal ones. Conclusion: The powerful effect of positive personal characteristics and their sensitivity to long-standing and intense organizational pressures suggests new approaches to executing stress reduction programs and refreshing the nurses’ morale by attaching more importance to ethical aspects of caring. Moreover, regarding palliative effect of social support and its importance for nurses’ well-being, nursing executives are responsible for providing a working environment that supports nurses and motivates them.