Relationship Between Burnout and Academic Teaching Level among Nursing Faculty

Nursing faculty function as healthcare providers, educators, mentors, advisors, and researchers, which contributes to the development of emotional exhaustion or burnout due to role overload. Symptoms of burnout may vary among nursing faculty depending on academic teaching level, tenure status, and educational preparation and may influence the physical and psychological health of nursing faculty, potentially affecting work productivity, career longevity, and the number of future nurses educated. The purposes of this study, guided by Maslach’s multidimensional burnout theory and the job demands resources model, were to determine (a) if there was a difference in level of burnout between graduate and undergraduate nursing faculty and (b) what effect academic teaching level, tenure status, and educational preparation have on the level of burnout reported by nursing faculty. A sample of 168 nursing faculty from the northeastern US. completed an online survey of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Educators. Data from the survey were analyzed using independent 2 tailed t tests and multiple regression. Results revealed academic teaching level, tenure status, and educational preparation had no significant impact on the level of burnout. Nursing faculty reported emotional exhaustion and depersonalization related to job demands, however they reported a high level of personal accomplishment. Future research might include a qualitative approach to understand the individual perspective of the burnout experience. Fostering the development of personal and professional health programs to support nursing faculty members may prevent the progression of burnout symptoms among nursing faculty and lead to positive social change