Is It Me or You? A Team Approach to Mitigate Burnout in Critical Care

Abstract

Burnout-a combination of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of individual accomplishment-is a serious issue for critical care nurses. Burnout has been examined as an individual's emotional state, but burnout is also a social phenomenon that may spread among colleagues through emotional contagion. Current interventions to reduce burnout are either person directed or organization directed; few interventions focus on the critical care nursing team and their social support and interactions. This article reviews burnout in critical care nursing through the lens of emotional contagion. We offer suggestions for team-based interventions to address burnout in critical care nurses.

Keywords: Burnout; Critical care; Nurses; Occupational stress; Social support; Storytelling; Teamwork.