Perceived organizational support and self-efficacy as mediating factors between job burnout and emergency response competence among new nurses: a study based on emergency departments and intensive care units.

Background: Emergency and critically ill patients have serious illnesses that rapidly worsen and necessitate immediate medical attention, which places a great deal of demand on clinical nurses' emergency response competencies. These abilities are essential for improving nursing quality and ensuring patient safety. However, newly qualified nurses in emergency and critical care units exhibit higher levels of job burnout, which is a key risk factor influencing their emergency performance. Although other studies have shown an association between emergency response competencies and job burnout, the potential mediating roles of self-efficacy and perceived organizational support in this relationship have not been fully explored. Therefore, this study aims to examine the multiple mediating effects of perceived organizational support and self-efficacy on the relationship between job burnout and emergency response competence among new nurses in emergency and critical care departments. Methods: The study used convenience sampling to select 321 new nurses from the emergency and critical care departments of eight Grade A tertiary hospitals in Anhui Province. Data were collected through questionnaires covering general demographic information, alongside the Perceived Organizational Support Scale, Self-Efficacy Scale, Job Burnout Inventory, and Emergency Response Competence Scale for Nurses in Public Health Emergencies. Results: The total scores for job burnout, perceived organizational support, self-efficacy, and Emergency Response Competence among new nurses in emergency and critical care were 48.0 (39.0, 57.5), 41.0 (39.0, 51.0), 25.0 (20.0, 30.0), and 61.0 (54.0, 72.0), respectively. Job burnout showed negative correlations with perceived organizational support ( Conclusion: This study indicates that newly qualified nurses in emergency and critical care settings demonstrate a moderate level of emergency response competence, which may be associated by years of work experience and environmental factors. The findings highlight that strengthening perceived organizational support and self-efficacy represents a key intervention strategy for improving emergency response competence, particularly among new nurses in emergency and critical care units who experience higher levels of job burnout. Nursing managers should focus on interventions that enhance organizational support and self-efficacy to reduce burnout and improve emergency response competence.