Burnout syndrome in health-care professionals in a university hospital

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate professional achievement and factors associated with occupational burnout among health professionals. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 436 healthcare providers, consisting of 101 nurses, 81 doctors and 254 nursing technicians, all meeting pre-established inclusion criteria. Occupational burnout was detected using the Maslach occupational burnout inventory tool. Data were collected by self-administered questionnaires comprising questions concerning socio-demographics, education and training, and the Maslach occupational burnout inventory was used to identify levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and professional achievement. RESULTS: Emotional exhaustion was associated with education level and work place for nursing technicians. Depersonalization was associated with gender in nursing technicians. For nurses, depersonalization showed a significant association with education level, whereas this factor was associated with number of jobs for doctors. Lower levels of professional achievement were observed for unspecialized doctors compared to those with further training. Higher levels of professional achievement were associated with professionals with postgraduate training compared to those without. CONCLUSIONS: High levels of emotional exhaustion were found in professionals from the maternity unit as well as in professionals with lower educational levels. Depersonalization was higher in physicians with several jobs and in female nurses. Low professional achievement was found in unspecialized doctors, while high professional achievement was associated with postgraduate training.

Burnout syndrome prevalence in physiotherapists

Summary Objective: To evaluate burnout syndrome in its three aspects, jointly as well as independently, in physiotherapists from the Extremadura region (Spain). Method: Analytic descriptive epidemiological transversal trial in primary care and institutional practice, with physiotherapists practicing in Extremadura who met the inclusion criteria, after having signed an informed consent form. Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and low professional accomplishment were the outcomes measured. Results: Physiotherapists from Extremadura show a 65.23 point level of burnout syndrome, according to the Maslach Burnout Inventory questionnaire. Therefore, they are positioned in the middle of the rating scale for the syndrome, and very near to the high level at starting score of 66 points. Conclusion: Physiotherapists in Extremadura present moderate scores for the three dimensions of burnout syndrome, namely, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and low professional accomplishment. For this reason, they are in the moderate level of the syndrome and very near to the high level, which starts at a score of 66 points. No relation between burnout syndrome and age has been found in our study.