Nurses face higher burnout rate

A survey of hospital medical staff has found that nurses suffer from a higher burnout rate than other healthcare workers, local media reported Monday.

The survey, commissioned by Fudan University's School of Public Health and the Shanghai Medical Labor Union, showed that about 84 percent of nurses from 30 to 40 years old are suffering from job fatigue, compared with 77 percent of female healthcare workers in general, the Laodong Daily reported.

Researchers interviewed about 2,500 medical staff members from eight of the city's top-tier hospitals for the survey.

The high burnout rate has led to a high turnover rate among hospital nurses. Every year, about 10 percent of nurses at top-tier hospitals quit their jobs, the report said.

Nurses don't receive as much respect as doctors or pharmacists, said a senior staff member surnamed Zhang from the Shanghai Nursing Association. "Patients still believe that nurses can only provide basic medical treatment like giving injections and dispensing medication," Zhang said. "Furthermore, nurses are not treated equally inside the hospital system."

Nurses also need to obtain a higher level of education, which also causes them to burn out. "Previously, nurses only needed vocational training, but now most medical institutions want them to have a bachelor's degree. Nurses need to work while going to school to advance their careers," Zhang said.

Nursing's irregular shifts also add to the stress because they interfere with a nurse's family time.

The excessive workload has also led to a shortage of nurses at the city's large hospitals, Zhang said. At top-tier hospitals, each nurse is responsible for eight or more patients at any given time, while nurses in Western countries typically just have to look after one or two.