Abstract

Problem: Burnout among nurses continues to negatively impact staff well-being, patient safety, and job satisfaction. Pediatric specialty units face unique stressors related to high patient acuity, emotional demands, complex interdisciplinary collaboration, and family interactions. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to implement and evaluate a structured peer mentorship program aimed at reducing nurse burnout within a pediatric specialty unit at a Midwestern hospital and to provide mentor education designed to improve mentor self-efficacy and preparedness.

Intervention: Maslach’s Burnout Theory served as the guiding framework for this project, which implemented a 45-day structured peer mentorship program in which experienced nurses were paired with nurses employed on the pediatric specialty unit for less than one year. Mentors received education on effective support strategies and discussion topics and met with mentees every other week to enhance peer support, provide guidance, and promote workplace well-being.

Measures: Burnout levels were measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) tool at baseline, 30 days, and two weeks post-intervention. Mentors’ self-efficacy and preparedness were assessed through pre- and post-intervention surveys.

Results: Four mentees participated in the project, with two completing all MBI assessments and included in repeated-measures analyses. Emotional exhaustion decreased by 9.4% at Day 30 and by 25% at the final survey. Depersonalization decreased by 25% at both follow-up points. Personal accomplishment increased by 11.8% at Day 30 and by 14.7% at the final survey. However, these changes were not statistically significant (emotional exhaustion: p = .543; depersonalization: p = .500; personal accomplishment: p = .210). Six mentors completed the educational intervention. Mentor preparedness and self-efficacy increased by 15.8%, though not statistically significant (p = .082). Qualitative findings highlighted communication, support, and role clarification as key components of effective mentorship. Limited participant retention, small sample size, and the short implementation period likely contributed to non-significant findings.

Conclusions: The project established a foundation for a peer mentorship program and identified strategies for future refinement. Continued development may enhance nurse well-being, job satisfaction, mentor preparedness, and retention within the pediatric specialty unit.

Description

NRS 890 Doctoral Scholarly Project IV

Author Details

Amanda Ortmeier, DNP(c), BSN, RN; Gina Crudden DNP, APRN-CNS, ACCNS-AG, CMSRN, FCNS

Sigma Membership

Tau Tau

Type

DNP Capstone Project

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Quality Improvement

Research Approach

Pilot/Exploratory Study

Keywords:

Nurse Burnout, Psychological Burnout, Job Stress Prevention, Peer Mentorship, Mentoring, Pediatrics, Pediatric Nursing, Maslach Burnout Inventory

Advisor

Gina Crudden

Degree

DNP

Degree Grantor

Nebraska Methodist College

Degree Year

2026

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Self-submission

Date of Issue

2026-09-14

Full Text of Presentation

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