THE IMPACT OF BURNOUT ON THE QUALITY OF PATIENT CARE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN PHYSICIANS AND NURSES IN EMOTIONALLY DEMANDING HOSPITAL SETTINGS
Keywords:
burnout, quality of patient care, healthcare staff, empathy, clinical performanceAbstract
Burnout is an increasingly recognized issue in healthcare, particularly in hospital environments marked by intense emotional and clinical demands. This study aims to explore in-depth how burnout affects the subjective experience and professional performance of physicians and nurses working in high-stress departments such as emergency care, intensive care, and burn units. The study focuses on identifying how accumulated stress and emotional exhaustion affect empathy, clinical communication, decision making, and moral sensitivity. Additionally, the study seeks to understand the extent to which the lack of institutional support exacerbates this situation and the consequences it has for the quality of care provided. A qualitative research design with a phenomenological-comparative approach was employed to analyze the lived experiences of healthcare professionals working in emotionally demanding clinical settings. The study involved 12 participants (6 physicians and 6 nurses) with more than five years of experience in the Emergency, ICU, and Burn Units at the University Hospital Center "Mother Teresa" in Tirana. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, which were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was conducted following Braun and Clarke’s methodology.Thematic analysis revealed four main themes representing the core dimensions of the impact of professional burnout: professional burnout reduces empathy and increases emotional distancing from patients; it directly affects the quality of care and clinical decision making; the relationship with patients is also affected, often causing feelings of guilt; interviewees emphasized the need for institutional support aimed at improving the psychological and emotional well being of healthcare staff as an effective way to enhance patient care. Burnout in emotionally intense clinical settings directly threatens the quality of healthcare services and the well-being of medical staff. It manifests as a cycle of exhaustion, emotional detachment, and moral tension, which impairs professional effectiveness and creates conditions for systemic failure in patient care. If not addressed institutionally and structurally, burnout risks becoming a silent public health crisis. Based on the findings, it is recommended that Albanian healthcare institutions develop long-term mechanisms to prevent and manage professional burnout. Key interventions should include: Development of well-being and stress management programs; Regular emotional supervision for clinical staff; Confidential and accessible psychological support services; Reassessment of workload and organizational protocols; Cultivating a workplace culture that values emotional well-being as a core quality indicator. This study represents one of the first systematic efforts to empirically explore the impact of burnout on clinical care in the Albanian healthcare context. The results provide a valuable foundation for future research and for the development of evidence-based policies aimed at protecting healthcare professionals’ well-being and improving patient care outcomes.
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