Burnout Among Health Care Professionals

Burnout is an occupational risk for anyone who works with needy people. It is a particular problem for physicians, nurses and other medical personnel who work with sick and dying people, as a syndrome, burnout is marked by three components; emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and low sense of efficacy in one's job. Staff members suffering from burnout show a cynical and seemingly callous attitude toward those whom they serve. Their review of clients is more negative than that of their staff members, and they treat clients in more detached ways.

The effects of burnout are manifold; burnout has been linked t absenteeism, high job turnover, and lengthy breaks during working hours. When burned-out workers go home, they are often irritable with their families. They are more likely to suffer from insomnia as well as drug and alcohol abuse, and they have higher rate of psychosomatic disorders. Thus, burnout has substantial cost for both the institution and the individual.

Why does burnout develop? It often occurs when a person is required to provide services for a highly needy individual who may not be helped by those services: the problem may be just too severe. For example, imagine the frustration that might develop in trying to provide for a patient who will ultimately die rather than be made better by that assistance. Moreover, such jobs often require the staff member to be consistently empathetic; this demand is unrealistic because it is hard for anyone to maintain an empathic orientation indefinitely. Often, caregivers perceive that they give much more than the get back from their patients and this imbalance aggravates burnout as well. Substantial amounts of time spent with clients, little feedback little sense of control or autonomy, little sense of success, role conflict, and role ambiguity are job factors that all aggravate burnout.

High rates of burnout have been found among nurses who work in stressful environments, such as intensive care, emergency, or terminal care. These nurses are expected t be sympathetic to patients and maintain interest, concern, warmth, and caring, yet they are also supposed to be objective. Many nurses find it difficult to protect themselves from the pain they feel from watching their patients suffer or die, I deal with these emotions, they become removed and distant. The stress of the work environment, including the hectic pace of the hospital and the hurried, anxious behavior of coworkers, also contributes to burnout. This is a area the healthcare settings should be concern of and intervention should be taken.