Article Sidebar
Published:
Sep 12, 2022Article Details
Copyright remains in the Author’s name. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial Works License. Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it [forthcoming].
Material submitted for publication in the AJHPE is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. The AJHPE does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors. The corresponding author should also indicate if the research forms part of a postgraduate short report, dissertation or thesis.
Previously published images
If an image/figure has been previously published, permission to reproduce or alter it must be obtained by the authors from the original publisher and the figure legend must give full credit to the original source. This credit should be accompanied by a letter indicating that permission to reproduce the image has been granted to the author/s. This letter should be uploaded as a supplementary file during submission.Main Article Content
Factors associated with emotional exhaustion in undergraduate and postgraduate nursing students
Abstract
Background. Nursing students face dual stress from a combination of academic and clinical demands, which may affect their emotional wellbeing. Poor emotional wellbeing may prevent them from gaining the necessary knowledge and skills to care for patients.
Objectives. To describe and compare levels of emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment, compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue and perceived stress of undergraduate and postgraduate nursing students, and to determine the influence of compassion fatigue, perceived stress and disengaged coping on emotional exhaustion.
Methods. This study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey at a purposively selected South African university. There were 685 students, of whom 471 (68.8%) completed the questionnaire, which comprised a biographical section, as well as standardised and validated scales.
Results. The respondents obtained a moderate score for perceived stress and were at average risk for emotional exhaustion and compassion fatigue. There were statistically significant differences between undergraduates and postgraduates on all scales, with undergraduates faring the worst. Stress from assignments and workload, lack of professional knowledge and skills, teachers and nursing staff and compassion fatigue made a statistically significant contribution to the prediction of emotional exhaustion in undergraduates. Compassion fatigue and stress from assignments and workload made a statistically significant contribution to the prediction of emotional exhaustion in postgraduates.
Conclusion. Nursing students had moderate stress scores and were at average risk for emotional exhaustion and compassion fatigue, with undergraduate students faring the worst. Schools of nursing should prioritise the emotional wellbeing of their students, particularly that of undergraduates.
