The burned-out clinical engineer

Considerable stress can be induced within hospital-based clinical engineers whenever unrealized expectations combine with a dynamic, goal-oriented personality. Unmanaged, this stress becomes the mental overload that eventually burns these clinical engineers out. As a result, in part, clinical engineering is losing its most valuable resource; for as clinical engineers( and BMETs) burn out, they tend to migrate from the hospital to industry, taking a wealth of talent and leadership with them. Understanding the etiology of clinical engineering burnout and its symptoms can alert personnel to modify expectations and life-styles to cope with the problem. Prevention techniques include self-awareness of expectations and needs, vacations, peer group discussions, outside interests-and ultimately job or career changes.