Background: Every one out of 10 nurses reported suffering from high levels of burnout worldwide. It is unclear if burnout affects job performance, and in turn, impairs patient safety, including medication safety. The purpose of this study is to determine whether nurse burnout predicts self-reported medication administration errors (MAEs). Methods: A cross-sectional study using electronic surveys was conducted from July 2018 through January 2019, using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. Staff registered nurses (N = 928) in acute care Alabama hospitals (N = 42) were included in this study. Descriptive statistics, correlational, and multilevel mixed-modeling analyses were examined. Results: All burnout dimensions (Personal, Work-related, and Client-related Burnout) were significantly correlated with age (r = −0.17 to −0.21), years in nursing (r = −0.10 to −0.17), years of hospital work (r = −0.07 to −0.10), and work environment (r = −0.24 to −0.57). The average number of self-reported MAEs in the last 3 months was 2.13. Each burnout dimension was a statistically significant predictor of self-reported MAEs (p < .05). Conclusions: Nurse burnout is a significant factor in predicting MAEs. This study provides important baseline data for actionable interventions to improve nursing care delivery, and ultimately health care, for Alabamians.

Background: Burnout impacts nurses' health as well as brain structures and functions including cognitive function, which could lead to work performance and patient safety issues. Yet, few organization-level factors related to patient safety have been identified. Purpose: This study examined nurse-reported patient safety grade and its relationship to both burnout and the nursing work environment. Methods: A cross-sectional electronic survey was conducted among nurses (N = 928) in acute care Alabama hospitals. Results: In multilevel ordinal mixed-effects models with nurses nested within hospitals, all burnout dimensions of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (OR for +1 SD ranging 0.63-0.78; P < .05) and work environment (OR for +1 SD ranging 4.35-4.89; P < .001) were related to the outcome of patient safety grade after controlling for nurse characteristics. Conclusions: Results indicate that health care organizations may reduce negative patient safety ratings by reducing nurse burnout and improving the work environment at the organization level.