Study of Nurses' Malpractice Tendencies and Burnout Levels.

Abstract

Malpractice, which occurs when a reasonable standard of service cannot be provided, is a critical situation in nursing care and interventions. Nurses' tendency toward medical errors and burnout levels are important due to their impact on patient safety and the quality of care. This study was conducted to investigate nurses' malpractice tendencies and burnout levels and the relationship between the two. The data of this descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational study were collected from 292 nurses working in a training and research hospital in Istanbul province between January and February 2021. A Descriptive Information Form, the Malpractice Trend Scale in Nursing (MTSN), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) were used to collect data. In data analysis, internal consistency coefficient, descriptive, non-parametric comparisons, and correlation analyses were performed. The mean age of the nurses participating in the research was 31.13 ± 7.87 years; 79.8% were women, 50.7% were single, and 68.5% had an undergraduate degree. When nurses' opinions about malpractice were examined, it was determined that 88.7% had not committed malpractice before and 53.4% had witnessed someone who committed malpractice. Nurses' overall MTSN score was 233.48 ± 15.32. Their Maslach Burnout Inventory score was 18.20 ± 8.83 on the emotional exhaustion subscale, 8.07 ± 3.86 on the depersonalization subscale, and 21.31 ± 4.00 on the personal accomplishment subscale. The reliability coefficients of the scales and subscales ranged between 0.61 and 0.95. There was a significant difference between the MTSN scale and MBI subscales according to nurses' positions and satisfaction with the environment (p < 0.05). A negative correlation was found between the mean scores on the total MTSN and the MBI emotional exhaustion (r = -0.314) and depersonalization (r = -0.293) subscales, and a positive and statistically significant relationship (p < 0.001) existed between the MTSN total scale and the personal accomplishment (r = 0.359) subscale. The level of burnout is associated with a tendency to malpractice. Taking measures to prevent nurses from experiencing burnout may be important for reducing medical errors. These measures will be reflected in better care service and quality.