Early career burnout among Dutch nurses: A process captured in a Rasch model

Abstract

This study investigates burnout among Dutch nursing graduates as a process by testing a sequential-developmental model. A sample of 237 respondents was recruited from a population of Dutch early career nurses. Burnout was measured with the Dutch version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS, Maslach & Jackson, 1981; Schaufeli & van Dierendonck, 2000). First, the dimensionality was tested with confirmatory factor analysis. A resulting one-dimensional model with exhaustion and depersonalisation was then analysed using a Rasch rating scale measurement model. Rasch analysis showed that these data adhered well to a sequential-developmental model. Burnout among early career nurses may be operationalized as a process that starts with fatigue as a result of strain and ends with severe exhaustion and depersonalisation towards patients. Personal accomplishment develops relatively independently. A separate Rasch analysis on the personal accomplishment items revealed a scale with almost similar item locations, resulting in redundant information.