A longitudinal cohort study of burnout and attrition in nursing students

Background. It is well-established that stress is likely to contribute to attrition in nursing students. Attrition from nursing programmes and retention of nurses in the profession are international concerns and steps are currently being taken in the United Kingdom to tackle these issues. Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate prospectively the determinants of, and relationships among, stress, burnout and attrition in nursing students. Method. A longitudinal design involving a complete cohort of nursing students was employed, using a battery of instruments to measure personality, intelligence, psychological morbidity, stress, coping and burnout. Data were gathered on entry, at12 and 24 months, and at the end of the nursing programme. Findings. Students experienced increasing levels of stress and use of negative coping mechanisms as the programme progressed and psychological morbidity increased. Positive aspects of personality were more likely to lead to aspects of burnout, and personality was a more important indicator of attrition than cognitive ability. Conclusions. Stress, burnout and attrition may not be directly linked. Personality factors at course entry contributed significantly to the prediction of burnout and programme completion, but the relationships were not strong enough to be practically useful.