The Association of Ward Atmosphere with Burnout and Attitudes of Treatment Team Members in a State Psychiatric Hospital

As part of a Clinical Affiliation Agreement between a major state psychiatric facility and a state university, it was agreed that the hospital's staff would be assessed in terms of: burnout, nursing functioning, and ward atmosphere. The assessment data would be used to examine hospital characteristics as they relate to the strategies necessary to transform an approach of custodial care to a culture of recovery. In order to address the baseline levels of attitudes for various disciplines the survey was conducted with all advanced practice nurses (APNs), assistant directors of nursing (ADNs), registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), psychologist, social workers, and psychiatrists. The results indicated that nursing staff had the highest burnout levels among the disciplines. Even though the nurse autonomy, relationship with MD, control over practice, and organization support was related to favorable traits on the ward atmosphere, this did not influence burnout rates of nurses. One hospital complex was distinctly different than the other four complexes of the hospital and had higher levels of Ward Atmosphere Support, Autonomy, and Order and Organization and lowest burnout levels. This assessment provides valuable data to understand the current organizational culture and consider design elements to improve collaboration and treatment team functioning.