Burn-out in Anästhesie und Intensivmedizin

Abstract

Physicians and nurses in anesthesia and critical care medicine are thought to be particularly prone to developing burnout. Epidemiologic data, however, are inconclusive especially because not all of the studies presented here are methodologically sound. Nevertheless, the following conclusions appear reasonable: in several European countries burnout is seen as a relevant problem in anesthesia and critical care medicine with a point-prevalence for moderate or severe burnout, as determined with the Maslach Burnout Inventory, at approximately 30% among nurses and approximately 40-50% among physicians. Determinants correlated with burnout can be found among the individual characteristics of those affected and within the occupational realm (for example high workload and insufficient control over the work routine). The actual severity of the patients' illness does not correlate with the degree of the healthcare workers' burnout. Notwithstanding a plethora of "how to" literature, there are no preventive or therapeutic measures which could meet the scientific requirements for guidelines. Stress management programs appear to be somewhat efficacious although there are no studies to date for the clientele featured in this publication. Multimodal therapy can be recommended for pronounced burnout, including occupation-related treatment modalities. However, a general open mind towards warning signs of chronic stress disorder on the individual level as well as an adequate gratification for the work performance and sufficient control over the work routine on an organizational level appear to be among the important preventive measures.

Intensive care nurses’ perception of futility

“…10,[34][35][36] In studies in the international literature, it is reported that intensive care staff experience EE, DPS, and work-related distress. 6,[37][38][39][40][41] In the literature, it has been reported that as an individual's age and work experience increase, he or she becomes more interested in his or her profession, adapts to working conditions more, and gains more experience in coping with stress. 34,42,43 Mollaoglu et al 42 report that nurses having worked longer in their careers experience exhaustion less, whereas especially young nurses who are new in their careers experience DPS more.…”

Children, care, career – a cross-sectional study on the risk of burnout among German hospital physicians at different career stages

“…Analyses focused on the MBI-scale emotional exhaustion (assessed by nine items, e.g. “I feel emotionally drained from my work”) which is considered as the best predictor of the risk of developing burnout syndrome [ 21 - 24 , 30 , 31 ]. According to Maslach and Jackson [ 46 ] the risk of burnout was rated as “high” when the value on the MBI-scale emotional exhaustion corresponded to 26 points or more.…”

“…A third of the physicians in a Swiss longitudinal study suffered from persistent intensive work-related stress [ 29 ]. Perceived stress and burnout are linked to each other as work-related stress can increase emotional exhaustion, which itself is the strongest predictor of burnout [ 30 , 31 ]. The point prevalence for European physicians developing burnout lies between 40 and 50 percent [ 31 ].…”

“…Perceived stress and burnout are linked to each other as work-related stress can increase emotional exhaustion, which itself is the strongest predictor of burnout [ 30 , 31 ]. The point prevalence for European physicians developing burnout lies between 40 and 50 percent [ 31 ]. As we pointed out in a former study, the risk of burning out for hospital physicians has increased since the 1990s [ 32 ].…”