College of Nursing and Health Sciences DNP Defense - Veronica Fernandes

Date: April 15, 2026

Time: 12:00 PM

ZOOM: Please contact dhoffman@umassd.edu for link

Dr. Melissa Duprey

Mr. Sean Cuniffe

Dr. Christine Saba Rezendes

 

Burnout among clinicians, defined as physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, remains an occupational hazard that adversely affects clinician wellbeing, patient outcomes, and organizational performance. High levels of burnout are prevalent in primary care pediatrics and negatively affect clinician retention, career satisfaction, and patient outcomes (Bogue & Bogue, 2020). Receiving appreciation protects against clinician burnout, as it enhances clinicians’ sense of personal accomplishment and counteracts emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (Woodward et al., 2022). Established formal feedback systems, such as the Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, often fail to provide timely and actionable data due to delayed responses and negativity bias (Zakare-Fagbamila et al., 2019). Evidence demonstrates that gratitude and real-time feedback positively affect job satisfaction, quality of care, and job performance (Aparicio et al., 2019; Lloyd et al., 2023). This evidence-based practice project implemented a real-time parent/guardian feedback intervention in a primary care pediatric practice. Using a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design, the project evaluated changes in clinician’s self-rated burnout using the abbreviated Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (Barton et al., 2022) and examined the impact of real-time parent/guardian feedback on clinicians’ perceptions and self-rated burnout. Findings indicated that clinician responses to real-time feedback were overwhelmingly positive, reinforcing professional motivation and value. Real-time feedback did not show a statistically significant change in clinicians’ self-rated burnout. Real-time feedback may be a feasible, low-burden resource to reinforce clinician engagement and appreciation in pediatric practice.

Keywords: clinician burnout, real-time parent/guardian feedback, parent/guardian appreciation, primary care pediatrics, evidence-based practice intervention