Burnout in psychiatric nursing.

Burnout is a syndrome characterized by progressive physical and emotional exhaustion involving the development of negative job attitudes and perceptions and a loss of empathic concern for patients. It is caused by chronic emotional stress resulting from prolonged intensive involvement with people. If unchecked, burnout will lead to a deterioration in the quality and quantity of nursing care received by patients. This study examines staff burnout among 31 registered psychiatric nurses working in a variety of clinical areas in the hospital setting. The Staff Burnout Scale for Health Professionals (SBS-HP) was used to determine the relationship of SBS-HP scores to respondents age, sex, and area of work. A comparison is made between this study and current research.