Burnout, Perceived Stress and Coping Styles among Nurses at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Muscat

background: Burnout and stress are major factors that can affect employee performance. Both can decrease work performance and customer service and lead to higher chances of acquiring medical illness, such as hypertension or anxiety disorders. Objective: Nurses working at a tertiary care hospital were assessed for stress and burnout levels and their coping styles for dealing with these were examined. Methods: A cross-sectional design, the present study recruited nurses from a variety of hospital units in Muscat, Oman. Out of 310 questionnaire forms, 276 were fully completed. Three measures were used: Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and a shortened version of the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (COPSS). Results: N=276 participated in the study (n=39 men, n= 237 women). Burnout and perceived stress were higher among nurses in surgical wards compared to nurses on other wards. The difference was significant (p 0.05). Marital status did not have any significant impact on the level of burnout. Task oriented coping style was the most used method to cope with stress, but there was no significant difference between different wards in term of the method of coping with stress. Conclusion: It is important to address the problem of high stress and burnout levels in surgical, medical and obstetrics/ gynecology wards. Anticipation of the effects of burnout and stress with active screening programs are better than waiting for the unwanted effects. Moreover, nursing administrators are advised to implement proper channels to help nurses who feel overwhelmed and burnt out and to formulate programs that teach nurses skills to cope with ongoing stress.