Identifying the Impacts of Burnout on Bullying During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Bullying and burnout has the potential to negatively impact nurses both at work and in their everyday lives and has been studied on various occasions. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, burnout amongst nurses has been on the rise. Researchers have studied incidences where patients have bullied health care workers. However, no such study has been carried out to examine bullying between nurses during the pandemic. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find whether burnout levels in nurses impacted bullying between nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The research literature will discuss bullying and its effects on patients, which nurses are victims of bullying and burnout, and the impacts of COVID-19 on nurses and their mental health. This proposed quantitative correlational study will electronically deliver surveys through a snowball sampling method. Recruitment will occur by advertising through social media and monthly staff meetings in hospitals throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The tools for assessment include the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Depression Scale, Sleep Quality Scale, Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, Anxiety Scale, and the Stress Scale. In order to rule out any extraneous variables, a multiple regression analysis will be conducted after collecting data using IBM SPSS statistical software v. 27