Factors Associated With Burnout in Perioperative Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study of Type D Personality, Clinical Competence, Occupational Stress, and Coping

IntroductionPerioperative nurses are exposed to high levels of occupational stress and psychological strain owing to the complexity of surgical care. Burnout in this group not only undermines individual well-being but also compromises patient safety and care quality. This study aimed to examine the relationships between Type D personality, perioperative clinical competence, occupational stress, coping strategies, and burnout, and to identify factors associated with burnout among perioperative nurses.MethodsThis cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted with 199 perioperative nurses recruited through an online convenience survey from tertiary hospitals in South Korea. Data were collected using self-administered online questionnaires administered between March and April, 2022. The analyses included descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA with Scheffé's post-hoc tests, chi-square tests, Fisher's exact tests, ANCOVA, Pearson's correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression.ResultsAmong the participants, 69.8% were identified with a Type D personality. The mean scores were 137.56±14.72 for perioperative clinical competence, 2.64±0.41 for occupational stress, 17.29±2.93 for problem-focused coping, 26.06±3.77 for emotion-focused coping, 28.59±4.93 for dysfunctional coping, and 64.47±11.99 for burnout. Hierarchical regression revealed that age, career length, subjective health status, Type D personality, perioperative clinical competence, occupational stress, and dysfunctional coping collectively accounted for 49.4% of the adjusted variance in burnout.ConclusionBurnout among perioperative nurses was significantly associated with Type D personality, clinical competence, occupational stress, and coping strategies. Targeted interventions addressing these modifiable factors may help reduce burnout among perioperative nurses.