The Effectiveness of Continuing Education Program on Nurses' Burnout

Nurses employed in military hospitals are exposed to the stresses of the military environment and high levels of job burnout. The model of follow-up care is a way to reduce job burnout. The purpose of this study has performed the effectiveness of the Continuing Education Program on job burnout of nurses.

This quasi-experimental study was performed on 94 nurses working in the selected Military hospital of Tehran. Initially, the Validated Goldard questionnaire was filled by nurses, and then 70 nurses with inclusion criteria were randomly divided into case and control groups. A two-hour group session was held on strategies for reducing job burnout and presenting educational booklets to the case group. The short message service (SMS) was sent to the experimental group three times each week for three months. Finally, both groups completed the burnout questionnaire. The data were analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics with the help of SPSS-17.

Findings showed that there was no significant difference in a burnout before intervention between the case and control groups. Also, there was no significant difference between the two groups before and after the intervention. There was a significant difference in burnout in the case group before and after the intervention (P=0.001).

Based on the results of using continuous training programs by telephone, the internet and SMS to reduce burnout of nurses is recommended. These treatment recommendations should be brief, useful, and applicable.