Document Type
DNP - Open Access
Award Date
2025
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
Graduate Nursing
First Advisor
Dannica Callies
Abstract
Background: With half of healthcare workers reporting burnout, job dissatisfaction and burnout are nursing epidemics. Staffing shortages and heavy workloads are leading dissatisfiers. Acuity-based assignments (ABAs) can predict patient needs and equitably distribute workload among nurses.
Local problem: Nurses of a 21-bed inpatient rehabilitation facility identified burnout related to workload. There was no standard practice for creating assignments, and the existing acuity measure was not rehab-specific.
Methods: An ABA tool was implemented over 12 weeks. Nurse satisfaction and burnout were measured with an abbreviated Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and the Nurse Satisfaction with the Quality of Care Scale, which were administered pre- and postintervention.
Interventions: The charge nurses identified rehab-specific variables critical to the assignment-making process. These were compiled into an ABA tool. The tool was used to assess patient acuity and guide assignments.
Results: Survey results were evaluated with the Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann- Whitney U tests. Pre- and post-implementation data revealed no significant difference in internal or external burnout or job satisfaction. No other observable trends were identified.
Conclusions: More investigation into nursing burnout and job satisfaction are required to understand and implement effective interventions.
Publisher
South Dakota State University
Rights
Copyright © 2025 Madelyn Miller Smith
Recommended Citation
Smith, Madelyn Miller, "Impact of Acuity-Based Assignments on the Satisfaction and Burnout of Inpatient Rehabilitation Nurses" (2025). Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Practice Innovation Projects. 211.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/con_dnp/211