Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
Spring 2025
First Advisor
Mary Newkirk
Second Advisor
Diane Hare
Abstract
Provider burnout is a critical issue in healthcare, often intensified by increasing demands to meet patient satisfaction benchmarks. This quality improvement project aimed to examine whether a structured stress reduction program could reduce provider burnout and positively influence patient satisfaction scores in a small outpatient clinic. Guided by the PICOT question—In the clinic setting (P), does the implementation of a stress reduction program for providers (I), compared to no intervention (C), lead to improved patient satisfaction scores (O) over a six-week period (T)? —the project used a pre- and post-intervention design. The intervention included mandatory provider breaks, communication training, and stress reduction workshops. A total of five full-time providers and 15 patients participated. Provider burnout was measured using a validated burnout survey, and patient satisfaction was assessed via a patient experience questionnaire. Paired-sample t-tests revealed a statistically significant reduction in emotional exhaustion (mean decreased from 21.8 to 7.6; p = 0.00000288) and a significant increase in personal accomplishment (mean increased from 4.4 to 16.6; p = 0.0000308). Although patient satisfaction scores showed an upward trend (mean increased from 29.2 to 31.6), the change was not statistically significant (p = 0.420). These findings support the implementation of low-cost, evidence-based wellness interventions to improve provider well-being and suggest a potential downstream impact on patient care quality. This project offers a replicable model for addressing burnout in outpatient settings and contributes to the growing body of knowledge on sustainable workforce wellness.
Keywords: provider burnout, patient satisfaction, stress reduction, quality improvement, outpatient care
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Lee, Sherita A., "Provider Burnout Related to Patient Satisfaction" (2025). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 124.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/124
