Predictors of university nursing students burnout at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

Sveinsdóttir, Herdís; Flygenring, Birna Guðrún; Svavarsdóttir, Margrét Hrönn; Thorsteinsson, Hrund Scheving; Kristófersson, Gísli Kort; Bernharðsdóttir, Jóhanna; Svavarsdóttir, Erla Kolbrún

BACKGROUND Little is known about the stress and burnout experienced by undergraduate and graduate nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Academic burnout among nursing students can have an impact on students' learning ability, health, and wellbeing and on the quality of care and intention to leave the profession post-graduation. OBJECTIVES Evaluate the predictors of nursing students' personal, academic, and collaboration-related burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN Cross-sectional two-site study. SETTINGS Icelandic universities offering nursing education. PARTICIPANTS Graduate and undergraduate nursing students in Iceland (N = 1044) were asked to participate in the study, with a response rate of 32.7%. METHODS An online survey was used to evaluate the students' stress and burnout in spring 2020. RESULTS The main findings show that 51% of the variability in the students' personal burnout was explained by their perceived stress, mental health, and perceived support. Furthermore, the students' perceived stress, support, and educational levels predicted 42% of the variability in their academic burnout. Burnout related to collaborating with fellow-students was explained by the nursing students' physical health and by their educational level, explaining 6% of the variability in fellow-students burnout. CONCLUSION University administrators might consider adding academic support facilities into their undergraduate nursing programs and teaching their students healthy coping skills.