Job Burnout and Its Related Factors Among Surgical Technologists

Introduction: Job burnout is a long-term response to job-related emotional and interpersonal stressors. These stressors are associated with individual, interpersonal, and organizational factors. Objective: This study aimed to determine the degree of burnout and its related factors among surgical technologists. Materials and Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in hospitals affiliated with the Iran University of Medical Sciences. A total of 125 surgical technologists were recruited by stratified sampling method. The study data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and then analyzed by the independent t-test, 1-way analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression with a simultaneous model. Results: More than half of the participants (52%) were in the age group of fewer than 30 years. The Mean±SD scores of job burnout in terms of intensity and frequency were 47. 88±17.5 and 47. 95±17.42, respectively. The mean job burnout scores of the majority of surgical technologists in dimensions of emotional exhaustion (intensity), depersonalization (intensity and frequency), and reduced personal accomplishment (intensity and frequency) were at a low level, but it was at a moderate level in the dimension of emotional exhaustion (frequency) among more than half of them. Through a multiple regression, the identified predictors of job burnout (frequency) were education level (β=9.377, 95%CI; 1.618-17.136, P<0.05) and work experience (β=-21.091, 95%CI; -38.201- -3.980, P<0.05). Meanwhile, education level (β=8.320, 95%CI; 0.568- 16.073, P<0.05), work experience (β=-30.976, 95%CI; -54.715 - -7.236, P<0.05), and hours of night shifts per month (β=-10.660, 95%CI; -18.205- -3.115, P=0.01) predicted job burnout (intensity). Conclusion: The job burnout of more than half of surgical technologists in the dimension of emotional exhaustion (frequency) was at a moderate level. Novice workers and operating room BScs suffered more from job burnout than those with an Associate degree and experienced workers. In this regard, healthcare and planner providers must pay attention to operating room BScs, especially novice workers.

The Effect of the Benson Relaxation Technique on the Quality of Sleep and Working Life of Surgical Technologists in Shiraz

Background: This study evaluated the effect of the Benson relaxation method on the quality of sleep and working life of surgical technologists. Methods: This randomized controlled trial was done on 180 surgical technologists who worked in 9 hospitals in Shiraz. Before the beginning of the intervention, participants were randomly assigned to either experimental or control conditions (simple randomization). The experimental group listened to an audiotape of the Benson relaxation technique twenty minutes periods, two times a day for four weeks, while the control group did not receive any intervention at all. The Pittsburgh sleep quality index and Walton quality of working life (QWL) questionnaires were used to measure the sleep quality and working life of surgical technologists, respectively. Results: Independent t-tests indicated that after the intervention, there were significant improvements regarding the total mean scores of quality of sleep (Mean (SD) Intervention = 2.88 (1.36), Mean (SD) Control = 15.1 (3.41), P < 0.001), and working life (Mean (SD) Intervention = 133.78 (9.22), Mean (SD) Control = 62.18 (19.68, P < 0.001) and their domains in the intervention group compared to the control group. Conclusions: Our findings are an important contribution to the previous research regarding the Benson relaxation technique as a non-drug, economical method. The current results can help health professionals for determine which psychological techniques are needed to be emphasized for promoting sleep quality and quality of working life in surgical technologists.

MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS IN OPERATING ROOM: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

Aim: The present study sought to understand the semantics of surgical technologists about the causes and factors inducing musculoskeletal disorders in operating room medical staff. Background: The physical health of operating room technologists, affecting the health of patients, causes mental health problems and reduces occupational performance. Methods: A qualitative and phenomenological study was conducted. The statistical population included all surgical technologists of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, from which 10 individuals were selected by non-probability and snowball sampling methods, and in-depth interviews were carried out for them. Results: In data analysis, the primary code was extracted in the form of 14 sub-themes and 5 main categories, including management factors, facilities, manpower status, destructive factors of the work field, and miscellaneous factors. Conclusion: The operating room medical staff considers muscular discomfort and pain in the head, neck, wrist, back, and legs as skeletal disorder, and they believe that factors such as managerial measures, poor equipment and lack of facilities, manpower status, destructive factors of intensive, long, and repetitive work fields, and some miscellaneous factors are effective in their occurrence. Relevance to clinical practice: As the medical staff are faced with physical, mental, and psychological pressures due to the difficulty of work, lack of facilities, attitudes of supervisors and managers as well as colleagues, this research can be effective and useful in order to introduce more of these dimensions to the relevant authorities.

Prevalence of Occupational Contact Dermatitis and its related Factors among Surgical Technologists in Five Educational Centers of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Occupational skin diseases and hand contact dermatitis specifically are among the most common occupational diseases among the healthcare workers. Since surgical technologists have contact with allergens and irritant substances are more susceptible to hand contact dermatitis. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of occupational hand contact dermatitis and effective factors among surgical technologists in five educational centers affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted over 125 surgical technologists working in the hospitals affiliated with Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences who were selected via census sampling. Later, 97 participants who met the inclusion criteria were investigated. Data were collected by Nordic Occupational Skin questionnaire (NOSQ-2002) through interview and analyzed by SPSS software version 23. Results: The findings indicated that 68% of the examined technologists were female and 57.7% were over 37 years old. The prevalence of hand dermatitis was 45.4% (44 people). The highest prevalence was observed at the back of hands (24.7%) and between fingers (17.5%). Contact hand dermatitis had a significant correlation with the participants’ gender (p = 0.002), work experience (p = 0.028), and frequency of hand washes (p = 0.021). Moreover, having a history of eczema and allergy (P-Value≤ 0.01) was significantly effective in increasing hand contact dermatitis. Conclusion: The prevalence of hand contact dermatitis is high among surgical technologists. Therefore, hospital managers are required to plan for preventive measures and control the current situation. Furthermore, future researchers are recommended to carry out more studies on allergic dermatitis.

Link between Occupational Fatigue and Medical Errors in Surgical Technologists

Background: Regarding the operating room's sensitivity and performing various invasive procedures, it is important to investigate the relationship between occupational fatigue and the occurrence of medical errors. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the relationship between occupational fatigue and medical errors among surgical technologists. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in operating rooms of hospitals of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in 2019. The research population included 141 surgical technologists selected via stratified random sampling. Data were collected using the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) and nursing errors in the operating room questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS16 software. Results: 82.2% of surgical technologists had moderate to severe fatigue. Non-compliance with the sterile technique with a 49.6% incidence rate was the most frequent error among participants. The findings showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the incidence of medical errors among surgical technologists with mental fatigue (r =0.160, P=0.04) and reduced motivation (r =0.185, P=0.02). Conclusion: The level of mental fatigue and reduced motivation among surgical technologists was directly related to the level of the incidence of medical errors. Therefore, it is recommended to implement effective programs to adjust and decrease mental fatigue and increase motivation to improve surgical technologists' performance.