Tired, Overworked Nurses Linked to More Patient Infections

Burnout tied to increase in two kinds of contamination

The nation's nurses are suffering from "chronic burnout" and for every patient added to his or her workload, there's roughly one additional hospital-acquired infection per 1,000 patients. According to researchers from the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, heavy patient loads are a top complaint from nurses. More than a third of them reported high levels of job-related burnout, which was measured by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and whether the nurses feel a sense of personal accomplishment. And for each 10 percent jump in the proportion of nurses who claimed high levels of burnout, there was roughly one additional catheter-associated urinary tract infection and almost extra two surgical site infections, per 1,000 patients. The nurses cared for an average of 5.7 patients apiece, and when even one extra patient was added to that load, the result was an additional 1,351 infections within the hospital population studied. (NBC News)

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