ses introduced into the practice of nursing by over-work (resulting from the personnel shortage), in turn, causes many more nurses to leave the profession (Scherer, 1987, pp. 1284-1290).
The stresses associated with the contemporary practice of nursing also lead to an increase in the rate of burn-out among professional nurses (Brenner and Wrubel, 1988, pp. 1072-1075). Burn-out, in turn, is a crucial factor in the development of performance impairment among professional nurses. Burn-out is a relatively common phenomenon in many fields of endeavor; however, it is particularly acute in the nursing practice. Burn-out, together with the actions of personnel before this point is reached, lead to high rates of personnel turnover, decreased levels of productivity, and declining quality levels in duty performance--impaired nursing. These factors cause severe managerial problems for health care delivery institutions, increased patient risk, and significant disruptions in the lives of the professional nurses involved. Burnout leads to additional defections from the profession, and further exacerbates the professional personnel shortage.
One of the major reasons professional nurses leave the profession is job dissatisfaction (Huey, 1987, pp. 809-812). In turn, job dissatisfaction is associated with the phenomenon of burn-out, which, in turn, is a contributor to the development of impaired performance among professional nurses. When professional nurses reach a point where they are dissatisfied with their job and their role, they tend to either leave the profession or simply become slack in their approach to their professional responsibilities--impaired performance (Beletz, 1983, pp. 110-117).
Burn-out is a manifestation of low levels of job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is the product of the combined effects of a number of variables. The combination of the variables involved, to some extent, depend...