What is the prevalence of burnout amongst first contact physiotherapists working within primary care?

It has long been known general practitioners suffer with burnout. First contact physiotherapists (FCP's) are a new role to primary care. However, concerns have been raised around the longevity and sustainability of the role and the risk of clinician burnout.

To assess the prevalence of burnout amongst the FCP workforce.

A self-reporting online questionnaire was developed and captured key demographical data and burnout scores amongst FCP's between February 2022 and March 2022. The burnout assessment tool (BAT12) was used to assess clinician burnout.

A total of 332 responses were collected. Overall, 13% of clinicians were burnt out, and 16% at risk. The BAT12 also found 43% of the clinicians are exhausted and a further 35% are at risk of exhaustion. Non-clinical hours were significantly associated with burnout score. Clinicians who had more non-clinical time per month were the least burnt out. Increased non-clinical hours was significant in reducing burnout score.

This study found 13% of clinicians are suffering from burnout with a further 16% at risk. Worryingly 78% of clinicians are either exhausted or at risk of exhaustion. Non-clinical hours have a direct impact on burnout and every effort is needed by employers to increase non-clinical time. This study supports the release by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy whereby they recommend sufficient time be allocated within job plans for appropriate supervision, training and continued professional development. Further research is needed to explore the association of non-clinical time and clinician burnout.