Burnout in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Clinical Faculty

To assess workplace burnout among medical imaging and radiation therapy clinical faculty.

An electronic nonprobability-based survey was sent to clinical faculty in the Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. The survey included demographic questions and Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) questions, which survey symptoms of burnout. Responses were scored, and the OLBI scores were compared among clinical faculty specializing in 4 disciplines (radiography, nuclear medicine technology, radiation therapy, and sonography) and with varying years of experience in their field. Exploratory linear regression models were constructed to examine associations between demographic variables and OLBI scores.

Analysis of variance results found no differences between OLBI scores of faculty specializing in various disciplines or with differing years of experience. However, the linear regression models indicated associations with age, length of time participants planned to work in the field, discipline (when defined as sonography vs other disciplines), supervisory status, and sex.

Mean OLBI scores for the clinical faculty were: 38.6 for nuclear medicine technologists, 38.9 for radiation therapists, 41.3 for radiographers, and 42.0 for sonographers. Participants younger than 40 years reported higher burnout levels compared with those aged 40 years or older. In addition, sonographers reported higher burnout levels compared with all other disciplines combined.

The results of this study are exploratory but can inform future studies. Future research should investigate whether age affects burnout among medical imaging and radiation therapy professionals and how burnout can be mitigated.