Nurses working during COVID-19 pandemic ‘beyond the point of burnout’ The group says burnout was a significant problem in health-care before the pandemic but it has since reached levels that “pose a threat to maintaining a functioning health-care workforce.”Research shows that nurses, those in intensive care and emergency departments, women, recent graduates and trainees are most at risk of burnout, which can lead to people leaving their jobs and contributing further to burnout risk among remaining staff.The science advisers say organizational approaches are more effective at reducing burnout than responding to individual cases.