Nursing is a high stress job, and burnout of nurses is of particular concern. The aim of this cross-sectional survey study was to examine the relationship between mindfulness and burnout, and how the mindfulness facets vary in their associations with the different domains of burnout for Chinese nurses. A sample of registered bedside nurses working in a tertiary Chinese hospital (n = 763) was surveyed from February to June 2017 regarding mindfulness (i.e. acting with awareness, describing, and non-judging of experiences), burnout (i.e. emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment), and sociodemographic and job-related characteristics. Higher scores on the three facets of mindfulness were associated with less emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and acting with awareness showed the highest regression coefficients. Personal accomplishment was positively associated with acting with awareness and describing, whereas it was negatively related to non-judging of experiences. Describing was the strongest facet associated with personal accomplishment. In conclusion, there were clearly correlations between mindfulness as a personal trait and burnout among Chinese bedside nurses. These findings suggest the potential benefits of tailored mindfulness-based interventions in reducing nurse burnout in China.
Keywords: China; bedside registered nurse; burnout; cross-sectional study; mindfulness.
© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.