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Healthcare Management vocabulary · Staffing and Workforce

Burnout

Meaning in healthcare management, with examples

/ˈbɜːrnaʊt/nounCommon term

In healthcare management, burnout means: A state of physical and emotional exhaustion caused by long-term stress at work, often with a feeling of distance from the job and lower effectiveness.

In Turkish: tükenmişlik, tükenmişlik sendromu

How it is used

Widely discussed among doctors and nurses. The WHO describes burnout as an occupational phenomenon, not a medical condition. Managers measure it in staff surveys and link it to turnover, sickness absence and patient safety. The adjective is 'burned out' or 'burnt out'.

Example sentences

  1. The staff survey shows high levels of burnout among emergency nurses.

  2. Protected breaks are one small step to reduce burnout on night shifts.

Common collocations

  • staff burnout
  • risk of burnout
  • prevent burnout
  • suffer from burnout
  • staff turnoverThe rate at which employees leave an organisation and have to be replaced, usually shown as a percentage of staff per year.
  • shiftA fixed period of work, such as day, evening or night, that staff take in turns so that a hospital is covered around the clock.
  • on callAvailable to come to work or give advice at short notice outside normal hours, either from home or while staying in the hospital.
  • safety cultureThe shared attitudes, beliefs and habits in an organisation that decide how openly people report errors, speak up about risks and learn from mistakes.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Staffing and Workforce

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.