Burnout assessment in house officers: Evaluation of an intervention to reduce stress

Abstract

Background: Medical house officers are at increased risk for stress related symptoms leading to professional burnout.

Aims: Measure burnout in house officers and establish whether utilization of a psychotherapeutic tool individually by physicians reduces symptoms characteristic of burnout.

Method: Two groups of pediatric house officers at the University of California Davis Health System completed a Maslach Burnout Survey (MBS) at the beginning and end of a three-month period in 2003. An Intervention group (7 of 15 enrolled) was trained in the use of a self-administered psychotherapeutic tool. Outcome Measures were MBS scores and a qualitative interview of intervention group members.

Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups, prior to the study or over time. Qualitative interviews revealed that subjects experience stressors in relation to their professional activities, but already utilize some elements of the tool and were too busy to implement the entire tool systematically.

Conclusions: Pediatric trainees did not seem to manifest burnout symptoms based upon the MBS; interviews suggested that some do experience significant stress, although manifestations and responses were varied, some may be at risk. Methods identifying individuals at risk for burnout, and interventions to cope with stress may be valuable to their training.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jay M. Milstein

JAY MILSTEIN, MD, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Medical Director Neonatal Units, and Associate Member of the Bioethics Group, University of California, Davis Health System. His research interests include holistic care of infants and their families with a particular focus on healing, physician welfare, bioethics, and fetal to neonatal cardiovascular adaptation.

Bonnie J. Raingruber

BONNIE RAINGRUBER, RN, PhD, Professor of Nursing at California State University, Sacramento as well as Nurse Researcher and Associate Adjunct Professor of Hematology and Oncology, University of California, Davis Health System. Her research interests are in alternative treatments and palliative care for cancer survivors and retention of health care providers.

Stephen H. Bennett

STEPHEN BENNETT, BA, Staff Researcher in Department of Pediatrics. His research interests are in fetal to neonatal cardiovascular adaptation.

Alexander A. Kon

ALEXANDER A. KON, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Bioethics, University of California Davis Health System. His creative work focuses on physician-patient interactions, decision-making in pediatric care, pediatric research ethics, and education and training in ethics and professionalism in graduate medical education.

Cynthia A. Winn

CYNTHIA WINN, LCSW, Pediatric Clinical Social Worker, University of California, Davis Health System. She has had a long-standing interest in child abuse and neglect as well as patient and staff care issues in intensive care settings. She has written a treatment manual for the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) and has written about the role of the therapist involved in child abuse and neglect.

Debora A. Paterniti

DEBORAH PATERNITI, Associate Professor of Sociology and Deputy Director, Center for Healthcare Policy and Research of the University of California, Davis Health System. Her research interests include patient expectations and decision making, health communication bioethics and health inequalities.