In nursing, managing burnout is as crucial for students as it is for professionals. With growing demands and the pressures of a challenging curriculum, nursing students face unique risks of burnout and mental strain even before they enter the workforce.
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In our recent study, we explored how personality traits among nursing students influence their experiences of burnout and overall well-being.
What Did We Do?
Our research focused on understanding the relationship between personality traits, burnout symptoms, and well-being among Swedish nursing students. We utilized Cloninger’s biopsychosocial model of personality, which examines how traits of temperament (inherent traits that influence automatic emotions and reactions) and character (what we make intentionally of ourselves or our values and goals) shape individuals’ experiences.
By studying 218 nursing students, we analyzed how different personality traits were linked to burnout indicators like emotional exhaustion and cynicism, and positive health outcomes like academic efficacy and life satisfaction.
What Did We Discover?
Our findings revealed several important connections.
Students with low levels of Harm Avoidance (less worry-prone) and high levels of Self-Directedness (goal-oriented) reported lower levels of burnout symptoms. They showed less emotional exhaustion and cynicism toward their studies and had greater academic self-efficacy and overall well-being.
We identified two distinct personality networks among nursing students:
- Organized/Reliable: These students tended to be more resilient, reported lower emotional exhaustion, and had higher academic efficacy.
- Emotional/Unreliable: This group showed higher levels of burnout symptoms, with increased emotional exhaustion and cynicism.
Interestingly, nursing students high in Self-Transcendence (a sense of connectedness beyond oneself) tended to experience higher levels of emotional exhaustion, possibly due to the deeply empathetic nature of their field.
Why Does This Matter?
Burnout affects more than just academic performance; it can impact nursing students’ long-term mental health and well-being. Our research shows that personality traits play a role in resilience against burnout. Understanding these traits allows for more targeted support strategies that foster well-being in nursing education.
What This Means for Nursing Education
Our findings suggest that nursing programs can support student well-being by encouraging traits associated with resilience, such as Self-Directedness and emotional balance. Programs may benefit from incorporating self-awareness training, stress management, and resilience-building activities into the curriculum, helping students build protective traits that can mitigate burnout.
This study highlights that supporting nursing students’ mental health is as important as providing them with clinical skills. By fostering resilience, we can better prepare future nurses for the emotional demands of their profession.
The Podcast
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The Paper
Garcia, D., Kazemitabar, M., Björk, E., Medeiros da Costa Daniele, T., Mihailovic, M., Cloninger, K. M., Frota, M. A., & Cloninger, C. R. (2024). Nursing Students’ Personality (Temperament and Character), Burnout Symptoms, and Health and Well-Being. International Journal of Nursing Studies. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnsa.2024.100206.