Burnout in Army health care providers

Research performed on soldiers in the military far exceeds that of research performed on military health care providers. The focus of this study was to explore the prevalence of burnout among the health care providers of the 101 st Airborne Division in relation to deployments. A cross-sectional survey was electronically dispersed to 158 health care professionals including combat medics, physician assistants, and physicians. Over one-third of these professionals completed the online anonymous survey successfully. Results revealed that the majority of those surveyed were, in fact, burnt out. The study showed no correlation between burnout and deployment, though it did demonstrate correlation to the number of leave days accrued. More in-depth research and analysis is needed to further explain this correlation of health care providers in the military, the amount of leave days they have accrued, and burnout. Further research is also needed to see if this high level of burnout is present among military providers of other services, in different locations, and between different professions.