Health Professionals Facing Burnout: What Do We Know about Nursing Managers?

Objective. To address the degree of burnout in nursing managers in hospitals of Western Switzerland, including comparison with medical managers, and its relationship with personal, work-related, and organizational characteristics. Methods. Statistical analysis of the scores of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey from 257 nursing managers who answered a standardized electronic questionnaire. Results. Nursing managers showed a lowdegree of burnout, whichwas similar to that ofmedical managers. Most of them had a low level of emotional exhaustion and a low level of depersonalization, while personal accomplishment was contrasted. Only 2.3% had a high degree of burnout. These findings challenge the hypothesis of high stress being associated with high burnout, as nursing managers can be supposed to have a highly demanding job due to their intermediary position within the hospital hierarchy. Variations of burnout by personal, work-related, and organizational characteristics mainly concerned emotional exhaustion. Conclusion. Though nursingmanagers face a highly demanding job, theymay benefit fromresources (including coping strategies and empowerment) which help counterbalance job stress. Unequal distribution of resources may play a central role when facing burnout.