Survey of burnout amongst drug and alcohol unit staff

Burnout has a special significance in healthcare where staff experience psychological, emotional and physical stress. Burnout has major behavioral and health implications. To evaluate the extent to which the staff employed in Drug and Alcohol Unit is affected by burnout. Drug and Alcohol Unit, Psychiatric Hospital, Bahrain. The study is a cross-sectional survey, incorporating a standardized measurement of burnout [Maslach Burnout Inventory: MBI]. All staff in the Drug and Alcohol Unit [N=31] were surveyed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory questionnaire in October 2011. Maslach Burnout Inventory [MBI] is designed to assess the three components of the burnout syndrome: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. Twenty-four [77.4%] responded, their result indicates a medium level of burnout. The degree of burnout among the staff working in the Drug and Alcohol Unit was low compared to the staff working in General Adult Psychiatry Unit. Personal accomplishment was high in Drug and Alcohol compared to General Adult Psychiatry. The degree of burnout as well as emotional exhaustion in the staff working in the Drug and Alcohol Unit was lower compared to the staff working in General Adult Psychiatry. Dealing with patients' psychological problems, feelings of isolation, lack of support, lack of reward, long hours of work and psychological morbidity leads to higher degree of burnout

Perception of medical students undertaking a problem-based learning curriculum: experiences during the pre-clerkship phase

Student's perceptions of pre-clerkship phase concerning their experience of the Problem-Based Learning [PBL] curriculum are variable. To determine how students in the pre-clerkship phase perceive problem-based learning and the changes in these perceptions with increasing experience. College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain. Students were interviewed in focus groups and responses were used to develop a structured questionnaire, with 25 sets of questions on five components of the PBL process, which was distributed to 148 students. Response rates were 96%, 76% and 46% for years 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Students perceived PBL as interesting and it develops self-confidence. During tutorials, most of the students were willing to challenge each other but not the tutor. Students preferred discussions with peers to consulting seniors. As the seniority increase, students tended to discuss more during the second tutorial and tended to ask more questions. While preparing for end-of-unit examinations students attempted inter-problem integration less than intra-problem integration. Students perceived PBL as an interesting, though difficult, method of learning, which helps to develop their self-confidence but may result in gaps in their knowledge. The tendency to focus on clinical aspects of a given problem at the expense of its basic science concepts should be discouraged by careful construction of the problems and tutor guides. While students challenge their peers during discussion, all students do not prepare adequately for the second tutorial. Integrated learning can be further enhanced through focusing on the themes identified in the unit booklets and the use of integrated questions on these themes