Assessing burn‐out and occupational stressors in a medium secure service

The study aimed to identify occupational stressors and measure experiences of clinical burn‐out among a group of mental health nurses and occupational therapists in a medium secure service. All the nursing staff (n=115) and occupational therapists (n=9) on three wards in a medium secure hospital were asked to partake in the study, and to complete a modified version of the Psychiatric Nurse Occupational Stress Scale (PNOSS), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and a demographic questionnaire designed for the study.Results from the PNOSS revealed that organisational issues elicited the greatest stress and were most strongly related to high burn‐out scores, identified by the MBI. Limited resource and staff conflict were also associated with stress and burn‐out. Patient care had a relatively small impact. MBI findings were that a substantial proportion (54%) were experiencing high burn‐out in relation to emotional exhaustion.