Research Problem and Purpose
The article in question, “Comparison of Nurse Burnout Across Army Hospital Practice Environments,” endeavors to explore a problem that has recently elicited the attention of nursing scholars. The problem is known as nurse burnout. It refers to the physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion experienced by nurses due to work related challenges.
The authors of this article correctly note that American Army nurses have been deployed to some of the most dangerous parts of the world in the recent past due to the heightened need for global vigilance. They often end up working in austere environments, which are further aggravated by the constant risk of enemy attacks. By highlighting the dire conditions in which army nurses operate, the article describes the research problem. Its authors also describe the purpose of their study quite clearly. Their intention was to examine the environments in which Combat Support Hospital (CSH) nurses practice and how these environments contribute to burnout. The study then compares burnout among CSH nurses and nurses who serve in army hospitals back in the U.S.
The study is significant and relevant to the nursing profession because there are numerous army hospitals across the U.S. As such, the nurses who serve in these hospitals form a significant fraction of the country’s nursing fraternity. Additionally, the fact that it explores burnout under the worst possible scenario makes it easier to find a solution for normal hospital settings.
The study was resource intensive because CSH data were obtained from selected CSH units in Iraq. A parallel study was also conducted for U.S. based nursing personnel. Consequently, researcher expenses were significant. The level of commitment was, however, encouraging because the necessary training and orientation were strictly adhered to. The researchers were also ethically considerate because they informed participants about every necessary detail of the study before it was conducted. Based on the number of subjects who volunteered to participate in the study, it is evident that the ethical requirements were satisfactorily met. In the overall sense, the study was feasible.
Literature Review
The literature review highlights several pertinent studies and shows their significance to this study. At the end of the literature review, an average reader can have a clear concept of what burnout is and the circumstances that surround its incidence. The Structural Process Model of Burnout, developed by Maslach, Jackson and Leiter (1996) was incorporated in the review to make it easier for a reader to understand the concept.
In an attempt to make the review comprehensive, the authors also reviewed studies that had been conducted barely a year earlier. In fact, most of the reviewed literature was from studies that had been conducted in the preceding five years. Some relatively older studies were also reviewed, but the authors arranged their review in a manner that shows a smooth flow of ideas on burnout and the nursing practice environment. However, since most of the literature is relatively recent, the background against which this study is set is largely provided by current theoretical and empirical knowledge.
Study Framework
The study framework has been distinctively set apart. It has its own heading and sub-headings, under which all the steps that were undertaken by the researchers to make the study a success are described. The authors endeavored to explicitly describe the concepts that were of interest to them. The structural process model of burnout has been used to describe the relationships between the concepts. Having explained the key concepts and how they relate to one another, the authors moved further to show how the fundamental concepts affect or relate to the study variables. As noted earlier, the study examines the nursing practice environment of CSH nurses deployed to Iraq between 2007 and 2009. Their level of burnout is then compared that of similar personnel in an army hospital back at home.
The issue of concern to the authors is how the CSH practice environment influences burnout. Therefore, although a model is identified and used to explain some relationships, the authors do not expressly state the proposition they intended to test in relation to the model.
Research Objectives, Questions and Hypotheses
The study has two clearly stated objectives. The first objective is to examine the nursing practice environment and burnout in CSH nursing personnel serving in Iraq at the time. The second objective is to find out the difference in the levels of burnout between this group and a demographically similar group serving in a large army hospital in the U.S. These objectives have been clearly linked to the purpose of the study. Anyone who reads the article can make out a logical connection between the objectives and the purpose of the study. Similarly, the objectives have been successfully woven into the framework. The relationships that the authors show in the framework are a clear attempt to meet the study objectives.
Variables
The study involves a number of variables, but the authors do not identify or categorize them as independent or dependent. The authors endeavored to bring the study up to expectations in almost all other areas, but did not replicate the same standards in this area. The main variables of the study are the nursing practice environment and burnout. They can be easily identified by an average reader. However, categorizing them as independent or dependent variables may not be as easy. Nonetheless, since the study changes the nursing practice environment to find out how it affects the level of burnout among nurses, it is deducible that the nursing practice environment is the independent variable.
The authors also fail to conceptualize or operationalize the variables. In some studies, the conceptual definition and operational definition of variables differ. However, this study does not exhibit this distinction. Demographic variables are also lacking in the study. The only identifiable demographic variable is that the participants were nurses in different army facilities, both at home and in Iraq.
Research Design
The study adopted a non-experimental cross-sectional design. Considering that it met the requirements of a scientific study and was published in a reputable academic journal, it is arguable that the design used was appropriate as it gave the desired results. Additionally, it provided a framework within which the two objectives and the study purpose were adequately addressed. However, since the study was only concerned with finding out the differences in the levels of burnout among the nurses under different circumstances, no treatment measures are discussed therein.
The selection of research assistants was done with caution to eliminate the possibility of bias or distortion in the results because data collection was done by uniformed officers. Without the careful selection process, their ranks would have influenced the study results. Similar caution is, however, not replicated in the research process. The article does not indicate whether there was a pilot study or not. Therefore, although the researchers took precautions throughout the study, the study was susceptible to errors.