Date of Conferral

10-8-2026

Date of Award

October 2026

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Leann Stadtlander

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic intensified burnout among healthcare workers. Although burnout in hospital settings has been widely documented, registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), medical assistants (MAs), and equivalent clinical support roles in outpatient primary care have received comparatively limited qualitative attention. Guided by Maslach’s burnout theory and the job demands–resources model, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the experience of burnout among primary care healthcare workers who performed front-line work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirteen participants, including 10 RNs and three MAs or individuals holding equivalent MA-related roles, completed individual, semi-structured, audio-only Zoom interviews; no LPN completed an interview. Data were analyzed using a recursive six-phase thematic analysis. Six themes were identified, including doing more with less while care kept changing; burnout was more than tiredness that sometimes followed workers home; and effective prevention had to be proactive, embedded, and organizationally owned. The study’s potential contribution to positive social impact includes informing primary care organizations’ efforts to create more sustainable work environments through attention to staffing, workload management, protected time, psychological safety, confidential support resources, and organizational responsibility for burnout prevention.

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