Emotional implications of working in a burn unit

Burnout is a syndrome that has been characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment associated with chronic occupational stressors. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of burnout in healthcare professionals involved in primary burn care and to gain an understanding of the stressors and pleasures they experience. A cross-sectional survey was administered between February and March 2004 to healthcare professionals working in the burn unit (BU, study group) and critical care unit (CrCU, control group) of a teaching hospital. Three questionnaires were administered: a demographic data sheet, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and a questionnaire evaluating sources of stress, pleasures of work, and coping mechanisms used by staff. All 75 surveys distributed were completed (BU=36, CrCU=39). Respondents from the BU were nurses (66.7%), occupational or physical therapists (11.1%), physicians (8.3%), respiratory therapists (5.6%), social workers (2.8%), and others (5.6%). There were no significant differences between BU and CrCU professionals in years of experience on the unit (6.7 vs 8.0 years), years in the field (16.5 vs 14.7 years), weekly hours of patient care (35.1 vs 39.6 hours), and number of ventilated patients cared for per month (8.4 vs 19.3 patients). On the MBI, there were no significant differences between units with respect to the emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment subscales. However, staff in the BU reported lower rates of depersonalization (P=.049) compared with the CrCU counterparts. There was no significant difference in the perceived sources of workplaces stressors, but differences existed in the coping mechanisms. BU professionals exercised less (P=.007), talked less with their families (P=.006), ate less (P=.002), and watched less television (P=.002) compared with CrCU professionals as a means of coping with their workplace stress. In conclusion, although BU and CrCU have similar work environments, BU staff was significantly less depersonalized compared with CrCU staff. However, the two units had comparable rates of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. The mechanisms for coping with workplace stress differed significantly between the two units.