Stress, burnout and job satisfaction in rural psychiatric nurses : a Victorian study

Objective: To measure the level of stress, burnout and job satisfaction in rural psychiatric nurses in Victoria, Australia. Method: This present study presents the findings of a research study undertaken with rural psychiatric nurses (n = 136) in two rural mental health services in Victoria. The study designed to measure their level of stress, burnout and job satisfaction using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), the Nursing Stress Scale (NSS) and Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS).Results: The findings indicated that a low number rural psychiatric nurses suffered from ‘high’ level of burnout and the majority of nurses reported ‘low level’ of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation scores. On the personal accomplishment subscale, only 11% recorded a ‘high’ score and 87% recorded ‘low’ score. On the Nursing Stress Scale, the ‘workload’ was the highest perceived stressor followed by ‘inadequate preparation’. Conclusions: Paradoxically, the majority of rural psychiatric nurses stated that they were satisfied with their job, particularly with current situation at work, aspects of support and the level of involvement in decision making.