CASE STUDY
COVID-19 Burnout and Retention Challenges
San Juan Regional Medical Center
A HealthStream conversation with Patricia Maule , MSN , RN , NPD-BC ; Clinical Scholar / Nursing Education Manager at San Juan Regional Medical Center ( SJRMC ) in Farmington , New Mexico , demonstrated the drastic impact that COVID-19 had on nursing staff . Her semi-rural hospital is the leading care provider in the Four Corners area that includes northwestern New Mexico , and also serves a large native American population from nearby reservations . Even in mid-2021 , SJRMC had “ more COVID-19 positive patients than any of the big hospitals in Albuquerque ,” nearly 200 miles away .
The nurse turnover rate at SJRMC prior to the pandemic matched that in other hospitals of the same size , and typical remedies were to help nurses experiencing burnout to seek new challenges by changing specialties or finding a new work focus . However , COVID-19 care has stressed SJRMC nurses to a previously unimagined degree . To start , limiting staff exposure meant individual nurses had to learn to provide all aspects of care to patients , including tasks that once were the purview of assistive staff , and doing so enshrouded in
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