Understanding leadership styles and the prevention and management of nursing burnout in the hospital setting

Abstract

Nurse burnout has become a salient topic in healthcare literature in recent years. With growing concerns for nurse wellbeing and workplace satisfaction, the need to find solutions has never been more urgent. This study aims to determine the role of nurse leaders in preventing and managing nurse burnout. To discover the most desirable leadership style(s) and communication practices exhibited by nurse leaders, two focus groups with three nurses each were conducted in addition to two one-on-one interviews with nurse managers. This study found that burnout is most often described as feeling disengaged and exhausted and is paired with a number of individual coping mechanisms. The results indicate that transformational leadership is the most preferred by nurses and nurse leaders. Practical suggestions for nurses, leaders, and hospital systems were formed from the data using Framework Analysis. The findings should serve to extend and clarify existing research regarding nursing burnout and leadership.