Emotional intelligence, perceived stress and burnout among resident doctors: An assessment of the relationship.

ABSTRACT

Background. Burnout is an increasing problem among the medical fraternity, especially resident doctors. We assessed the relationship between burnout, emotional intelligence and perceived stress in an attempt to explore a probable solution. Methods. Residents in the departments of medicine (n=29) and surgery (n=27) were assessed with a specially designed proforma consisting of participant’s profile sheet, Shirom–Melamed Burnout Measure (SMBM), Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Correlation and mediational analysis were used to analyse the data. Results. The findings showed a positive correlation of burnout with perceived stress and a negative correlation with trait emotional intelligence (EI). Perceived stress also showed a negative correlation with trait EI. Mediation analysis showed that perceived stress mediates the effect of trait EI on burnout. Conclusion. Enhancing EI through training may be an important intervention for targeting burnout.