Primary Care Practice Environment and Burnout Among Nurse Practitioners

Abstract Poor practice environments contribute to burnout, but favorable environments containing support, resources, autonomy, and optimal relations with colleagues may prevent burnout. Compared with all nurse practitioners (NPs), 69% of these NPs provide primary care to patients, yet whether the practice environment is associated with NP burnout is unknown. A study to examine environmental factors related to NP burnout was conducted. Overall, 396 NPs completed the survey, and 25.3% were burnt-out. Higher scores on the professional visibility, NP-physician relations, NP-administration relations, independent practice, and support subscales were associated with 51%, 51%, 58%, and 56% lower risk of NP burnout, respectively.