Other Titles
PechaKucha Presentation
Abstract
Nurses on inpatient units frequently experience interrupted or missed meal breaks due to coworker requests, phone calls, alarm systems (such as equipment alarms and call lights), inadequate staffing to cover breaks, and a lack of a coordinated shift plan for meal breaks. Repeatedly forfeiting protected break time contributes to physical and mental fatigue and is a modifiable workplace stressor. Left unaddressed, this stressor may progress into burnout, a significant occupational risk for nurses.
Burnout in nurses has been defined as a gradual state of physical and psychological exhaustion characterized by anger, indifference, and reduced effectiveness, often accompanied by depression and anxiety (Kellogg, 2021). Nursing staff burnout is associated with lower job satisfaction, higher turnover, and an increase in adverse patient safety events (Galanis et al, 2023; Li et al., 2024). Frequent disruptions in healthcare increase distress and burnout by reducing practitioners’ sense of control (Johnson, 2025). Protecting break time and ensuring it remains uninterrupted is a practical strategy to reduce fatigue and burnout. This quality improvement project will implement a protected break protocol for an interprofessional team in one hospital and evaluate its impact on burnout and job satisfaction while monitoring for any unintended effects on unit workflow.
The Maslach Burnout Inventory for Medical Personnel (MBI-HSS-MP) and a one-item job satisfaction rating will be used to establish baseline levels, along with shift-level audits or self-reports of break interruptions. The MBI-HSS-MP has demonstrated strong psychometric properties for assessing burnout among healthcare professionals (Lin et al., 2022). The intervention will introduce structured, uninterrupted breaks supported by a tracking mechanism. After implementation, measures will be repeated to assess changes. It is hoped that structured break times will improve burnout and job satisfaction and serve as a model for other institutions.
Notes
Presenter notes available in attached slide deck.
References:
Galanis, P., Moisoglou, I., Katsiroumpa, A., Vraka, I., Siskou, O., Konstantakopoulou, O., Meimeti, E., & Kaitelidou, D. (2023). Increased job burnout and reduced job satisfaction for nurses compared to other healthcare workers after the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing Reports, 13(3), 1090–1100. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13030095
Johnson, R. J. (2025). Health practitioner burnout, safety implications, and programmatic fixes: A systematic literature review of current literature reviews. Journal of Public Health International, 7(3):14–27. https://doi.org/10.14302/issn.2641-4538.jphi-25-5436
Kellogg, M. B. (2021). Secondary traumatic stress in nursing: A Walker and Avant concept analysis. Advances in Nursing Science, 44(2), 157–170. https://doi.org/10.1097/ANS.0000000000000338
Li, L. Z., Yang, P., Singer, S. J., Pfeffer, J., Mathur, M. B., & Shanafelt, T. (2024). Nurse burnout and patient safety, satisfaction, and quality of care: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open, 7(11), e2443059. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.43059
Lin, C.-Y., Alimoradi, Z., Griffiths, M. D., & Pakpour, A. H. (2022). Psychometric properties of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Medical Personnel (MBI-HSS-MP). Heliyon, 8(2), Article e08868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e08868
Sigma Membership
Upsilon Phi
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Workforce, Psychological Burnout Prevention, Psychological Burnout, Work Environment, Work Experience (Employment)
Recommended Citation
Fabian, Jennifer; Reed, Hannah Kayuha; Romero-Agsalda, Isabel; Pires, Jachelle Braithwaite; Vandolah, Lindsey; and Kellogg, Marni B., "Protecting Nursing Breaks to Reduce Burnout and Support a Healthy Work Environment" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 7.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2026/presentations_2026/7
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference 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
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-04-22
Protecting Nursing Breaks to Reduce Burnout and Support a Healthy Work Environment
Washington, DC, USA
Nurses on inpatient units frequently experience interrupted or missed meal breaks due to coworker requests, phone calls, alarm systems (such as equipment alarms and call lights), inadequate staffing to cover breaks, and a lack of a coordinated shift plan for meal breaks. Repeatedly forfeiting protected break time contributes to physical and mental fatigue and is a modifiable workplace stressor. Left unaddressed, this stressor may progress into burnout, a significant occupational risk for nurses.
Burnout in nurses has been defined as a gradual state of physical and psychological exhaustion characterized by anger, indifference, and reduced effectiveness, often accompanied by depression and anxiety (Kellogg, 2021). Nursing staff burnout is associated with lower job satisfaction, higher turnover, and an increase in adverse patient safety events (Galanis et al, 2023; Li et al., 2024). Frequent disruptions in healthcare increase distress and burnout by reducing practitioners’ sense of control (Johnson, 2025). Protecting break time and ensuring it remains uninterrupted is a practical strategy to reduce fatigue and burnout. This quality improvement project will implement a protected break protocol for an interprofessional team in one hospital and evaluate its impact on burnout and job satisfaction while monitoring for any unintended effects on unit workflow.
The Maslach Burnout Inventory for Medical Personnel (MBI-HSS-MP) and a one-item job satisfaction rating will be used to establish baseline levels, along with shift-level audits or self-reports of break interruptions. The MBI-HSS-MP has demonstrated strong psychometric properties for assessing burnout among healthcare professionals (Lin et al., 2022). The intervention will introduce structured, uninterrupted breaks supported by a tracking mechanism. After implementation, measures will be repeated to assess changes. It is hoped that structured break times will improve burnout and job satisfaction and serve as a model for other institutions.
Description
Nurses often miss breaks due to interruptions and staffing issues, and these missed or interrupted breaks contribute to nursing burnout. Burnout, in turn, reduces job satisfaction, increases turnover, and threatens patient safety. This quality improvement project will implement protected breaks for an interprofessional team and evaluate their effect on burnout and job satisfaction, while monitoring workflow impact and developing a model for replication in other institutions.