Burned Out Nurses = More Patient Infections?

This article suggests a link between Burned out nurses linked to more infections in patients. The authors describe how researchers have found a correlation to burnout with nurses and the number of infections seen in the patients they care for.

Specifically, the research has suggested that when a nurses' workload increases, so too, does the number of infections that are seen within the patients who are under their care.  This could be due to not practicing good sanitary methods of care between patients; it could be due to fatigue (both physical and mental); it could be due to burn-out.

This article got my attention as I am curious to see if there is any similar relationship within the profession of athletic training.  We know the hours an AT will place in the worksite will almost always be more than a traditional 40 hour week.  Most ATs during preseason will accrue 40 hours working M-W alone!  Studies within the profession of AT have identified burn-out in the profession, but have not linked medical mistakes to the burn-out or job related fatigue.  I can only assume that many ATs have made mistakes when they are consistently putting in 12-14 hour days.  The mistakes may not be that which will be a matter of life and death, but I am curious if the decisions, like the nurses identified in this article, increase our patients health outcomes negatively.

Of course, much more to be looked at regarding this subject and our profession, but thought there may be some connection with our profession and this article.