Occupational burnout is a phenomenon at the core of which there is a disproportion between involvement in the performance of professional duties and the benefits derived from this. The phenomenon of occupational burnout frequently concerns people whose job is people-oriented and involves helping others. Occupational burnout is related to professions consisting in the provision of social services, requiring face-to-face work with people and intense interpersonal relationships, where social skills are the basic work tools. Occupational burnout is particularly frequent in the case of nurses as their job involves such elements as stress, showing compassion, and involvement in the affairs of the patient, at the same time requiring them to maintain emotional distance. Stressful character of the daily work of nurses from surgical wards can be the reason for the development of occupational burnout.

Key words: professional burnout, stress, the work of nurses, stress prevention.