Burnout can be defined as a bio-psychosocial response to chronic emotional stress. It hasthree components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of personalaccomplishment (Erickson & Grove, 2008; Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001; Milliken,Clements, & Tillman, 2007). While stress seems an inherent part of the nurse profession, "sincethe mid 1980s however, nurses' work stress may be escalating due to increasing use of technology,continuing rises in health care costs, and turbulence within the work environment"(Jennings, 2008b, p. 137). Multiple studies have been done evaluating the incidence of burnoutamong nurses. In fact, every nurse can most likely recount personal incidences of varying levelsof burnout. The fact that burnout is so pervasive is not a surprise, but the far-reaching ramificationsshould be enough to startle nurses, supervisors, and facility administrators into action.
