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Burnout among physicians in palliative care: Impact of clinical settings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2015

Soazic Dréano-Hartz ,
Wadih Rhondali Open the ORCID record for Wadih Rhondali [Opens in a new window] ,
Mathilde Ledoux ,
Murielle Ruer ,
Julien Berthiller ,
Anne-Marie Schott ,
Léa Monsarrat  and
Marilène Filbet
Soazic Dréano-Hartz
Affiliation:
Department of Palliative Care, Centre Hospitalier de Lyon-Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Pierre-Bénite, France
Wadih Rhondali
Affiliation:
Department of Palliative Care, Centre Hospitalier de Lyon-Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Pierre-Bénite, France
Mathilde Ledoux
Affiliation:
Department of Palliative Care, Centre Hospitalier de Lyon-Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Pierre-Bénite, France
Murielle Ruer
Affiliation:
Department of Palliative Care, Centre Hospitalier de Lyon-Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Pierre-Bénite, France
Julien Berthiller
Affiliation:
Pôle IMER (Information Médicale Evaluation Recherche), Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
Anne-Marie Schott
Affiliation:
Pôle IMER (Information Médicale Evaluation Recherche), Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
Léa Monsarrat
Affiliation:
Department of Palliative Care, Centre Hospitalier de Lyon-Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Pierre-Bénite, France
Marilène Filbet*
Affiliation:
Department of Palliative Care, Centre Hospitalier de Lyon-Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Pierre-Bénite, France
*
Address correspondence and reprint request to: Marilène Filbet, Department of Palliative Care, Centre Hospitalier de Lyon-Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, 165 Chemin du Grand Revoyet, 69310 Pierre-Bénite, France. E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

Objective:

Burnout syndrome is a work-related professional distress. Palliative care physicians often have to deal with complex end-of-life situations and are at risk of presenting with burnout syndrome, which has been little studied in this population. Our study aims to identify the impact of clinical settings (in a palliative care unit (PCU) or on a palliative care mobile team (PCMT)) on palliative care physicians.

Method:

We undertook a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire that included the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and we gathered sociodemographic and professional data. The questionnaire was sent to all 590 physicians working in palliative care in France between July of 2012 and February of 2013.

Results:

The response rate was 61, 8% after three reminders. Some 27 (9%) participants showed high emotional exhaustion, 12 (4%) suffered from a high degree of depersonalization, and 71 (18%) had feelings of low personal accomplishment. Physicians working on a PCMT tended (p = 0.051) to be more likely to suffer from emotional exhaustion than their colleagues. Physicians working on a PCMT worked on smaller teams (fewer physicians, p < 0.001; fewer nonphysicians, p < 0.001). They spent less time doing research (p = 0.019), had fewer resources (p = 0.004), and their expertise seemed to be underrecognized by their colleagues (p = 0.023).

Significance of Results:

The prevalence of burnout in palliative care physicians was low and in fact lower than that reported in other populations (e.g., oncologists). Working on a palliative care mobile team can be a more risky situation, associated with a lack of medical and paramedical staff.

Keywords

BurnoutPalliative care physiciansClinical settingsMaslach Burnout Inventory
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , August 2016 , pp. 402 - 410
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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