Medical Burnout

The WHO defines burnout as an inadequate response to chronic workplace stress, with emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced professional efficacy. Its growing incidence among physicians may adversely affect their personal and professional lives. Mindfulness aims to reach a state of consciousness in which one's attention is purposefully focused on the present. This chapter uses a narrative review of articles published between 2015 and 2019, with the MeSH terms “Burnout,” “Professional,” “Mindfulness,” and “Health Personnel.” Sixty-six articles were obtained, of which one meta-analysis, two systematic reviews, and two randomized clinical trials (RCT) met the inclusion criteria. All studies showed some degree of burnout improvement, more statistically significant as regards emotional exhaustion. One RCT also showed a reduction in heart rate. Available evidence suggests that mindfulness may improve physicians' well-being, mental health, and resilience, asserting itself as a possible coping strategy for burnout, namely regarding emotional exhaustion.

Burnout and Stressors as Influencers on Work Engagement Among Law Enforcement Agents in Selected Cities

Burnout is an underlying issue that has an adverse effect on the working enthusiasm of the employees. In this chapter, the researcher has attempted to assess the influence of stressors on burnout and work engagement in the context of the Indian law enforcement agents. The study evaluates the correlations between burnout factors—emotional exhaustion, cynicism, low professional efficacy—with vigor, dedication, and absorption. For the purpose of this study, items from MBI-GS for assessing burnout, scale for stressors, and employee engagement are adapted. The construct of the scale developed was established using confirmatory factor analysis. The study was carried out for 145 law enforcement agents in the selected cities of a North Indian state. T-test results applied on stressors between male and female groups show varying results. A significant negative effect of burnout factors on work engagement factors is observed through the empirical examination using SEM AMOS.

Academic Burnout pada Proses Pembelajaran Daring

Academic burnout mengacu pada stress dan faktor psikologis karena proses pembelajaran sehingga menunjukan keadaan kelelahan emosional, kecenderungan untuk depersonalisasi dan perasaan prestasi yang rendah. Sindrom ini dapat mempengaruhi kompetensi mahasiswa dan perubahan fisik dan mental. Tujuan Penelitian ini untuk diketahuinya academic burnout pada pembelajaran daring. Jenis penelitian ini menggunakan cross sectional, populasi pada penelitian adalah mahasiswa STIKes Horizon yang telah melakukan proses pembelajaran daring selama1 tahun akademik, pengambilan sample menggunakan Snowball Sampling dan Simple Random Sampling dengan jumlah sampel 276 responden. Instrumen penelitian yang digunakan academic burnout dengan melihat nilai exhaustion, Cynicism dan professional efficacy. Korelasi exhaustion dengan Cynicism menunjukkan hubungan yang sangat lemah dan arah hubungan bernilai positif (R= 0.680), korelasi exhaustion dengan professional efficacy menunjukkan hubungan kuat dan arah hubungan bernilai negative (R= -0.244), korelasi Cynicismdengan professional efficacy menunjukkan hubungan kuat dan arah hubungan negative (R= -0.311), dapat disimpulkan bahwa dimensi exhaustion, Cynicism dan professional efficacy saling mempengaruhi pada academic burnout, hal ini diperkuat dengan ditemukan data mayoritas mahasiswa merasa lelah 155 (56.2%), memiliki perasaan sinis 137 (49.6%) dan merasa tidak kompeten dengan proses pembelajaran 140 (50.7%). Saran, Untuk meningkatkan efek positif dan mencegah insiden academic burnout di kalangan mahasiswa, dianjurkan untuk melakukan perubahan strategi pembelajaran dan berinovatif, Penelitian ini dapat juga menjadi dasar bagi pengelola untuk dapat melakukan perubahan strategi pembelajaran yang inovatif pada saat pembelajaran daring.

Burnout among medical students of the University of Kerbala and its correlates

Background Burnout is prevalent among medical students. Throughout their training, medical students face many psychosocial stresses that, if not managed, might cause burnout syndrome. Burnout could negatively impact students’ life and their academic performance. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of burnout among medical students at the College of Medicine, University of Kerbala, and assess factors associated with it. An analytic cross-sectional study. A sample of 424 students from all academic years from the College of Medicine, University of Kerbala, was approached. Data collection was conducted from June 11 to July 3, 2020, through a self-administered online questionnaire based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey (MBI-SS). The MBI-SS included 15 questions with a 7-point rating ranging from 0 (never) to 6 (always). The tool measures three subscales: emotional exhaustion (5 questions), Cynicism (4 questions), and professional efficacy (6 questions). Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program version 24 was used for data analysis. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the association between burnout and students̓ variables, P value of a level < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results The prevalence of burnout syndrome among medical students was 38.2%. About 85.6% of students had high emotional exhaustion, 77.8% had high cynicism, and 32.5% exhibited low professional efficacy. Female gender, regular use of legal substances, and family history of mental diseases were associated with significantly high rates of burnout. Conclusions Burnout is prevalent among medical students of the University of Kerbala with quite high levels of emotional exhaustion and cynicism and lower professional efficacy levels. Faculties of medicine need to consider burnout among their students and works to reduce unnecessary stresses by modifying and upgrading the educational and clinical environments.

Burnout Among Saudi Radiological Sciences Undergraduate Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Burnout syndrome may adversely affect health care workers and health sciences students. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of burnout among Saudi third- and fourth-year radiological sciences students across three campuses of King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Methods An exploratory, cross-sectional study was conducted among 176 Saudi radiological sciences students, using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey for Students. The 16-item questionnaire was administered electronically. The arithmetic means of individual items making up each scale of burnout were calculated, and statistical analyses were performed using Mann-Whitney U nonparametric test. Results From the 176 radiological sciences students approached, 96 (54.5%) completed the questionnaire. The percentage of students who were at moderate to high risk of burnout for emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy were 70.8%, 75% and 74%, respectively. Fourth-year students emotional exhaustion mean scale score was 19.3 ± 6.8 indicating significant higher burnout levels (P = 0.042), compared to third-year students mean scale score of 15.9 ± 7.2. Fourth-year female students cynicism mean scale score was 16.3 ± 7.6 indicating significant higher burnout levels (P = 0.035), compared to third-year female students mean scale score of 10.3 ± 7.1. Fourth-year female students showed significant lower professional efficacy mean score (21.1 ± 8.0), compared to males (26.1 ± 7.9, P = 0.007). Conclusions Our study shows 73.3% moderate to high burnout rates among Saudi radiological sciences students. A greater proportion of fourth year female students reported high levels of emotional exhaustion. Burnout increases as students advance to the fourth year. A block/modular curriculum structure for fourth-year courses may be necessary to reduce burnout among fourth-year students. The provision of academic counseling can relieve students' emotional stress and therefore reduce the risk of burnout.

Epidemiology of Burnout and Its Association with Academic Performance Among Medical Students at Hail University, Saudi Arabia

Objectives: Burnout syndrome is a condition that is well-documented globally among medical students and affects their academic performance due to high levels of associated stress and psychiatric morbidities. This study aimed to assess burnout prevalence and predictors along with its association with academic performance among medical students at Hail University, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey of medical students was conducted between May and June 2019 at the Medical College at Hail University. The English version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)-Student Survey was used to assess the three components of burnout syndrome— cynicism, emotional exhaustion and professional efficacy. A fixed-model multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted for each of the three MBI components’ levels and for total burnout to identify factors significantly associated with burnout syndrome. Results: A total of 218 students were included in this study (response rate: 53.8%). The majority of participants were female (n = 121; 55.5%) medical students ranging between 21–24 years of age. High emotional exhaustion, high cynicism and low professional efficacy was found among 79.4%, 61.0%, and 37.6%, respectively, of respondents. The overall prevalence of high burnout was 27.1% (n = 59). Female students were at almost double the risk for high emotional exhaustion compared to male students (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.14, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06–4.34; P = 0.034). Students with grade point averages (GPA; on a four-point scale) ranging between 3.51–4.0 were considerably less prone (83% less risk) to experience burnout as compared to students with a GPA ≤2.0 (AOR = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.03–0.91, P = 0.039). Conclusion: High levels of overall burnout were reported among Hail University medical students. Students with a higher GPA, however, were found to be less prone to burnout. Keywords: Burnout Syndrome; Medical Students; Fatigue; Stress; Saudi Arabia.

Is There Utility in Specifying Professional Efficacy as an Outcome of Burnout in the Employee Health Impairment Process

The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of specifying professional efficacy as an outcome of burnout in the employee health impairment process of the job demands–resources model. The sample comprised a general, but purposive, sample of employees (n = 660). Specifically, participants needed to be at least 18 years of age and be employed in the formal sector. Structural equation modeling methods were applied to analyze the data with a mean- and variance-adjusted weighted least squares estimation. The results showed that the research model was a good fit to the data. Furthermore, the results showed that burnout had a statistically significant negative structural path to professional efficacy, but that professional efficacy in turn did not statistically significantly explain variance in either psychological distress or turnover intention beyond burnout. There were also no meaningful indirect effects, from emotional load to either psychological distress or turnover intention, of professional efficacy. All in all, the results showed that there was no practical utility in specifying professional efficacy as an outcome of burnout in the employee health impairment process of the job demands–resources model, except if professional efficacy is being investigated as an outcome for its own sake.

Measures of Burnout and Empathy in United States Doctor of Pharmacy Students: Time for a Change?

Purpose: To review interim data regarding longitudinal burnout and empathy levels in a single Doctor of Pharmacy class cohort. Methods: Students were emailed an electronic survey during their first semester and annually at the end of each academic year for a total of 3 years (2017-2020). Validated survey tools included the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) student version. The JSE survey consists of 20 questions, with higher scores denoting more empathy. The MBI student version contains 3 subscales: exhaustion (higher scores are worse), cynicism (higher scores are worse) and professional efficacy (higher scores are better). Results: The median JSE score at the end of the third academic year (PY3) was 110, with females scoring significantly higher (114.5 vs. 103.5; p<0.02). A majority of the 62 students reported burn out (82.3%), scoring in the highest category for either exhaustion (76%) or cynicism (55%). A majority (66%) also reported a low or moderate professional efficacy score, a negative finding. Measures of student burnout increased after the start of the program and remained at the higher level each subsequent year (p<0.0001). In the Spring of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly every student had moderate or high levels of emotional exhaustion (97%) and cynicism (78%) as measured by the MBI. Conclusion: This interim data suggests high degrees of pharmacy student burnout. Empathy levels remained stable throughout the duration of the study. Pharmacy schools may need to focus on reform regarding well-being and prevention of burnout.

Lost in the stream? Professional efficacy perceptions of journalists in the context of dark participation

Online comments and contributions from users are not always constructive nor rational. This also applies to content that is directed at journalists or published on journalistic platforms. So-called ‘dark participation’ in online communication is a challenge that journalists have to face because it lowers users’ perceived credibility of media brands and hinders a deliberative discourse in comment sections. This study examines how journalists perceive themselves in relation to dark participation, what measures they take against it, and how they assess the efficacy of these measures. Based on in-depth interviews ( N = 26), we find that journalists overall considered themselves to be effective in handling dark participation. The perceived efficacy differed according to the grade of engagement with users. Journalists who interacted very much or very little with users perceive the efficacy of their interventions to be highest, whilst those with medium levels of interaction rate their efficacy to be lower. Furthermore, the perceived amount of dark participation also affected the perceived efficacy.

Person–environment fit and medical professionals’ job satisfaction, turnover intention, and professional efficacy: A cross-sectional study in Shanghai

Objectives Using the person-environment (PE) fit theory, this study aims to explore factors affecting medical professionals’ job satisfaction, turnover intention, and professional efficacy, and to examine individual characters associated with PE fit. Design and methods This study used data from the sixth National Health Service Survey conducted in 2018, with a focus on job outcomes among medical professionals in Shanghai. The reliability and validity of the tools for measuring PE and job outcomes were calculated. A structural equation model was used to examine the relationship among person-job (PJ) fit and person-group (PG) fit, job satisfaction, turnover intention, and professional efficacy. Finally, a hierarchical regression model was used to analyze the association between demographic variables and the PJ and PG fit. Results PG fit was directly and positively associated with job satisfaction and professional efficacy. PJ fit had a direct and positive association with job satisfaction but had a direct and negative association with turnover intention. The indirect association of PJ fit with turnover intention was statistically significant. The results from the hierarchical regression analysis showed that younger physicians generally had a lower level of PJ fit and older physicians with higher education tended to have a lower level of PG fit. Conclusions Medical professionals with higher PJ or PG fit have higher job satisfaction, and those with higher PG fit have higher professional efficacy. The impact of PJ fit on turnover intention was mediated by job satisfaction. Healthcare managers should take actions to effectively promote medical professionals’ PJ and PG fit to improve their retention and efficiency.