Burnout specific to human service workers has been reported in the U.S. in the 1970s. Since then, such burnout has become widely known and the mental health of nurses has attracted attention. Stressors in the work environment and complexity have increased with advancement in increasingly complicated medical care.
 One of the major roles of a psychiatric liaison nurse is to provide support to improve the mental health of nurses. In our hospital,a psychiatric liaison nurse has a staffposition under the direct supervision of the director of the nursing department but operates outside the chain of command. A psychiatric liaison nurse is not involved in the performance review of nurses. Thus,the nursing staffand the nursing manager can discuss their problems with the psychiatric liaison nurse without risks. Psychiatric liaison nurses provide support as counselors through individual and group interviews so that nurses can become re-energized about their work. In addition, psychiatric liaison nurses provide consultations and education. They perform coordination function to organize an environment to promote consultations regarding nurse support to the staff nurses and the nursing manager and to promote support by supervisors. For support after reinstatement of a nurse following a medical leave, it is particularly important to work with not only the individual nurse but also the entire nursing team.
 In our hospital, newly graduated nurses are given the GHQ-28 after one month of employment to assess the support they might need. In our study,nurses with high risks were divided into a group with a score of at least 6 points but less than 10 points and a group with a score of at least 10 points. The group with at least 10 points had significantly higher rates of leave of absence and resignation. Thus,early intervention was thought to be necessary in newly graduated nurses with a score of at least 10 points in the GHQ.