Burn nurses want support/ 20-year retirement is not implemented

The head of Iran's Burn Association emphasized the shortage of nursing staff in the country's burn departments, job burnout, livelihood problems, lack of continuous psychological support and migration of experienced nurses as the most important challenges in this field and warned: the continuation of these conditions can affect the quality of nursing care, patient safety and treatment outcomes.

According to Ambassador Arjan, Hamid Salehi, the head of Iran's burn association, explained the difficult working conditions of nurses in burn departments, spoke about the lack of manpower, job dissatisfaction, livelihood problems and mental pressures caused by continuous care of burn patients and emphasized the need for more support for this group from the medical staff.

Ilana wrote in a news article: Pointing out that burn nursing is one of the most difficult areas of the nursing profession in the world, she said: despite the possibility of retirement after 20 years of service for those working in this area, apparently this law is not implemented in practice. On the other hand, the lack of nursing staff and the lack of support appropriate to the difficulty of work have made it difficult for nurses to work and stay in these departments.

What is the state of nursing manpower in burn areas of the country?

As the colleagues of the medical staff are also aware, nursing is one of the most difficult jobs in the field of healthcare. Among the nursing fields, burn nursing is the most difficult type of this profession in the world, and there are several reasons for this difficulty. For this reason, burn nursing is classified as a difficult job, and according to the relevant laws, these people can retire after 20 years of service. Although apparently this law is not implemented in practice.

In general, nursing is a difficult and demanding job in all disciplines. However, some areas, such as psychiatric nursing in psychiatric wards and especially burn nursing, are more difficult than other disciplines.

Is the number of nurses working in burn departments proportional to the number of patients and the intensity of their care needs?

Definitely not. There is a lack of nursing staff not only in the field of burns, but also in other nursing fields. In addition to the usual nursing care, the burn patient needs specialized dressings and some special services; The issue that distinguishes burn nursing from other fields. The disproportion between the number of patients and the nursing staff is caused by the general lack of nursing staff in the country, and this problem actually exists.

What are the most important challenges of nurses working in burn treatment centers in the country?

Job burnout is one of the most important challenges. According to a study recently published in one of the reputable foreign and independent magazines related to burns, nurses working in burn departments, compared to other jobs and even their colleagues in other departments, face higher levels of burnout. These people suffer from anxiety and depression more often, and the problems caused by work in the burn department are often transferred to their personal and family life.

One of the existing problems is insufficient attention to this group from the point of view of mental health and job burnout. Even if there is a facility such as the early retirement law that was mentioned earlier, due to the general lack of nursing staff in the country, this law is not implemented.

When a field is associated with high levels of burnout and mental health problems, it is necessary to pay special attention to it; Because if neglected, the ability of nurses to provide proper care to patients will gradually decrease.

To what extent are the salaries and benefits of burn ward nurses compatible with their responsibilities and workload? Are there special benefits appropriate to the working conditions of these nurses?

Although accurate and official statistics are not available in this field, but based on the discussion with nursing colleagues, it seems that there is no significant difference in this field. The basic salary received by these nurses is apparently not different from the salaries of other nursing fields. This issue needs to be investigated more carefully and if confirmed, it will be completely unfair and will greatly reduce job satisfaction.

For example, even if they have more leave, about one month a year, the nurses of the burn department have to work in more than one place due to livelihood problems; A problem that practically makes this facility ineffective. Therefore, handling this issue should be done directly in the same department where the nurses are working.

Considering the risk of infection in burn patients, what measures are taken to improve infection control standards and support nurses?

It is necessary to explain that the infection in these patients is usually transmitted from one patient to another, and due to the presence of open wounds, there is no risk of its contagion to the medical staff, as was experienced during the covid epidemic. The difficulty of the work of nurses in the burn department is mostly due to the nature of the work itself, which is very hard and exhausting and mainly affects their mental health.

Burn nurses experience a lot of psychological pressure due to continuous exposure to patients' severe pain, extensive physical injuries, and sometimes death. What support is provided for their mental health?

In the field of mental health of nurses, the only action we have been able to take so far through the association and in cooperation with some universities is to provide them with the possibility of psychological and psychiatric counseling. However, this support remains limited and a regular and periodic support system, such as periodical examinations that exist in many industrial jobs, has not been provided for this group.

As a result, unless the nurse herself feels the need and goes to receive counseling services, no other action is taken. At the same time, many nurses do not pay attention to their mental health until the problems reach a serious stage due to intense conflict with work and life issues.

Burns are one of the diseases that have a high mortality rate, and nurses are the most exposed to the pain and suffering of patients. In such a situation, even if the situation is under control, the person is unconsciously psychologically affected and the work pressure continues continuously.

Can job burnout reduce the quality of care or leave experienced nurses from burn units?

Although accurate and official statistics are not available, but based on field observations, a number of nurses who previously worked with us in these centers have now migrated to different countries, including Australia and England. This trend is not limited to nurses in the burn department and is also observed at the general level of nursing in the country. These issues cannot be denied; Living and working conditions have become difficult and the existing support is insufficient.

What solution do you suggest to attract young nurses to the field of burns and motivate them for long-term activity in this sector?

My suggestion, which we have emphasized many times, is support, support and more support. One of the most important demands of nurses is to have financial support and improve living conditions; An issue that has become doubly important due to inflation and the ever-increasing cost of living. The fact is that with the current salaries and benefits and in the current economic conditions, it has become difficult and in some cases unbearable for nurses to continue working.

Nurses working in burn departments work in a difficult and stressful environment every day and are faced with patients whose physical and mental conditions are so difficult that even their families sometimes cannot bear these conditions. Therefore, working in this field requires professional abilities, high patience and mental preparation.

Therefore, if we want to attract young nurses to work in the field of burns and provide the necessary motivation for their long-term survival in this sector, we must prioritize financial and livelihood support and respond to their demands in accordance with the difficulties and pressures of this profession. Without effective support and improvement of living and working conditions, we cannot expect nurses to continue their activities with sufficient motivation in this difficult and specialized field.

Can the lack of financial satisfaction, along with other job challenges, lead to an increase in job burnout and a decrease in nurses' professional ability?

It seems that financial and subsistence support should be given special attention; Especially in specialized and difficult areas such as psychiatry and burns, where nurses working in them face additional mental and physical pressures. Although the nursing community of the country is facing many problems in general, nurses working in these departments are more vulnerable due to the special nature of their professional activities.

Considering the continuing shortage of nursing staff and the aggravation of job burnout, what consequences can these conditions have for burn patients?

Compliance with the treatment standards for burn patients requires simultaneous attention to various dimensions of care and treatment, especially the provision of specialized, sufficient and professionally qualified human resources.

One of the basic and decisive elements in providing effective medical services to burn patients is having an efficient, expert and experienced workforce. Efficient human resources should have sufficient specialized knowledge, clinical skills and necessary experience, and in terms of numbers, they should be provided in accordance with the needs of patients and standards of care.

The withdrawal of experienced and capable personnel from burn departments, especially nurses who still have high professional knowledge, skill and ability, can create serious challenges in the process of caring for these patients.

The tendency of these forces to leave the burn departments and transfer to departments with less work pressure, if continued, will reduce the specialized capacity and weaken the quality of nursing care. It should be noted that Iran is one of the countries that faces a significant burden of burn patients. In such a situation, even if other treatment facilities and infrastructures are well provided, without having sufficient and efficient treatment staff, especially nurses who are one of the main pillars of the patient care system, it is not possible to achieve the desired treatment results.

The continued shortage of specialized nursing staff in burn departments can bring the risk of increasing patient mortality, increasing the rate of burn-related infections, and reducing the effectiveness of medical care. As a result, achieving the desired treatment outcomes and improving the quality of life of patients will be more difficult.

Therefore, providing sufficient and specialized human resources, maintaining experienced forces and creating suitable conditions for the continuation of the professional activity of nurses in burn departments are among the basic necessities of improving the quality of treatment and increasing the safety of patients. This issue is not simply a manpower issue, but directly related to the quality of care and clinical outcomes for patients.

What are the obstacles to implementing scientific and up-to-date nursing standards in burn departments?

The most important obstacle in this field is the lack of nursing staff. The second basic challenge is job and livelihood dissatisfaction of nurses; In such a way that even the existing forces do not have enough support and facilities to continue their professional activities. On the other hand, improving the quality of nursing care requires continuous and specialized training courses so that nurses can keep their knowledge and skills up-to-date according to the latest scientific standards and modern care methods.

Achieving this requires allocating enough time for training, providing suitable opportunities to participate in specialized courses, and creating the necessary facilities for the effective participation of nurses in training programs.

Another important issue is supporting the mental health of nurses working in burn wards. Working in this department, due to continuous exposure to the difficult conditions of patients, their pain and suffering, and mental pressures caused by the nature of work, can lead to job burnout, anxiety and psychological problems. Therefore, it is necessary to provide effective psychological and social support, programs to prevent job burnout, and the necessary facilities to maintain the mental health of this group of employees.

Unfortunately, the support needed by nurses in this field during the past years has not been proportional to their professional difficulties. We have repeatedly emphasized the need to pay attention to these issues, but still the lack of human resources, livelihood problems, limited educational opportunities, and insufficient psychological and occupational support are among the most important obstacles to improving the quality of nursing care in burn departments.