Association between Sick Leave Prescribing Practices and Physician Burnout and Empathy

Relationship between empathy and burnout as well as potential affecting and mediating factors from the perspective of clinical nurses: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Burnout is prevalent in healthcare professionals, especially among nurses. This review aims to examine the correlation between empathy and burnout as well as the variables that influence and mediate them.

METHODS

This review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline, to present a systematic evaluation of literature. A literature search of four electronic databases including CINAHL (EBSCO), EMBASE, PubMed, and Google Scholar was conducted from 2014 to 2024. A total of 1081 articles were identified in the initial search. After screening the title, abstract, and context of these articles, 16 eligible articles were finally included in this review.

RESULTS

This review identified a number of factors related to empathy and burnout levels. The included studies showed consistent results that empathy and burnout were generally negatively related. When considering the different components of empathy or burnout independently, as well as the mediating factors involved, relations between empathy and burnout may alter.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provided an excellent summary of some important research on the mediating and affecting factors associated with burnout and empathy. These results can facilitate further development of interventions and policies to better manage and prevent burnout in nurses.

Emergency units and COVID-19: Burnout, and empathy reported by nursing professionals and perceived by patients

OBJECTIVE

To investigate Burnout Syndrome and empathy self-reported by the nursing staff and empathy perceived by the patient.

METHOD

Cross-sectional study in a public emergency unit in São Paulo (from October/2020 to March/2021). The nursing staff answered the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Consultation and Relational Empathy Measure-Nurses (Brazilian version), whereas adult patients answered the Consultation and Relational Empathy Measure (Brazilian version). Descriptive and inferential analysis, with a 5% significance level.

RESULTS

A total of 92 professionals and 271 patients participated. Most professionals reported impact of COVID-19 (80; 86.96%) and, among them, increased Burnout Syndrome (93; 75%), but with low emotional exhaustion (71; 74%), low depersonalization (59; 78%) and high level of professional accomplishment (72; 83%). Most reported impact and increased empathy, and the results reported by professionals and patients (mean and standard deviation) were: 39.89 (6.44) and 38.25 (9.45), respectively.

CONCLUSION

The professionals reported a low level of Burnout Syndrome and a high level of empathy in pandemic.

Differences in empathy levels among physicians based on specialty: a nationwide cross-sectional study

PURPOSE OF STUDY

A physician's ability to empathize is crucial for patient health outcomes, and this differs according to speciality, personal characteristics, and environmental factors. This study aimed to examine the empathy levels among physicians based on their specialities and to identify the influencing factors.

STUDY DESIGN

A nationwide, online, cross-sectional survey was conducted using the Nikkei Business Publication online physician member homepage. Participants were 5441 physicians in Japan registered as members of Nikkei Medical Online across 20 specialities. We used the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) to measure the physicians' empathy levels. Cronbach's alpha was 0.84.

RESULTS

The mean JSE score was 100.05, SD = 15.75. Multivariate analyses showed that the highest JSE scores were for general medicine [+5.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.60-8.56], general surgery (+3.63, 95% CI 0.97-6.28), psychiatry (+3.47, 95% CI 1.76-5.17), and paediatrics (+1.92, 95% CI 0.11-3.73). Factors associated with higher JSE scores were being female (+5.86, 95% CI 4.68-7.04), managers (+1.11, 95% CI 0.16-2.07), working in a small hospital (+2.19, 95% CI 0.23-4.15), and with children (+3.32, 95% CI 2.29-4.36).

CONCLUSIONS

A significant decrease in the empathy levels was found when the parent of the participant was also a medical provider. Being a general medicine physician or a female physician in a high position who has children was positively and significantly correlated with high empathy levels.

Empathy competence and future specialty among medical residents in Japan: a nationwide cross-sectional study

Empathy is essential for physicians to provide patient-centered care. Nevertheless, the degree to which empathy varies among medical residents based on their desired future specialty remains undetermined. This nationwide cross-sectional study compared empathy levels (Jefferson Scale of Empathy, JSE) of 824 year one and two postgraduate residents in Japan by intended medical specialty, individual characteristics, and training and working environment characteristics. Empathy levels were compared with applicants for general medicine, which emphasizes patient-centeredness. The highest mean JSE and the highest percentage of women residents were observed in general medicine (M = 109.74; SD = 14.04), followed by dermatology (M = 106.64; SD = 16.90), obstetrics and gynecology (M = 106.48; SD = 14.31), and pediatrics (106.02; SD 12.18). Residents interested in procedure-centered departments (e.g. ophthalmology, orthopedics) garnered lower JSE scores. Multivariate regression revealed that future general medicine candidates achieved the highest JSE scores ([Formula: see text] = 6.68, 95% CI 2.39-10.9, p = 0.002). Women achieved significantly higher JSE scores than men ([Formula: see text] = 2.42, 95% CI 0.11-4.73, p = 0.041). The results have implications for empathy training and postgraduate education strategy in different clinical specialties.

Explaining and addressing the limitations in usefulness of available estimated prevalence figures relating to burnout in family doctors: Evidence from a systematic scoping literature review

Burnout in family doctors (FDs) affects their well-being, patient care, and healthcare organizations, and is considered common worldwide. However, its measurement has been so inconsistent that whether the widely divergent prevalence figures can be meaningfully interpreted has been questioned. Our aim was to go further than previous systematic reviews to explore the meaning contribution and usefulness of FD-burnout prevalence estimates. Worldwide literature was systematically reviewed using Levac's scoping framework, with 249 papers undergoing full-text review. Of 176 studies measuring burnout, 78% used the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which measures burnout as now defined by the World Health Organization. We, therefore, concentrated on the MBI. Its burnout measurement was markedly inconsistent, with prevalence estimates ranging from 2.8% to 85.7%. Researchers made prevalence claims relating to burnout severity and implied diagnoses based on participants' MBI scores, even though the MBI has not been validated as a clinical or diagnostic tool. Except when comparisons were possible between certain studies, prevalence figures provided limited meaning and added little to the understanding of burnout in FDs. Our review revealed a lack of research-supported meaningful information about the prevalence of FD burnout and that care is required to avoid drawing unsubstantiated conclusions from prevalence results. This paper's overall purpose is to propose how obtaining meaningful prevalence estimates can begin, which are recognized as key to developing improved prevention policies and interventions. Researchers must adopt a consistent means to measure burnout, use the MBI as its authors intended, and explore making progress through quantitative and qualitative collaboration.

A comparison of emotional wellbeing and burnout of primary care professionals in 2014 and 2021

Background

Due to the pandemic that started in February-March 2020 and after many years of economic restrictions suffered by our health system, the levels of stress, exhaustion and suffering among health workers has increased.

Objective

Our study aims to perform a comparative analysis of the degree of burnout and emotional wellbeing among health professionals between 2014 and 2021.

Methods

This is a comparative descriptive study of two cohorts of primary care professionals of the Lleida health region (SPAIN). We have one cohort from 2014 and another from 2021 with the same selection criteria. Burnout was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-HSS) test. Gender, age, professional category and work environment were also evaluated.

Results

We obtained a response rate in 2014 of 52.7% (n = 267) and of 41.4% (n = 217) in 2021 with similar sociodemographic characteristics. There are significant differences (p < 0.001) in the three categories of burnout. The high scores for emotional exhaustion and depersonalization have increased, rising between 2014 and 2021 from 23.2 to 60.8% and from 12.4 to 42.4%, respectively. However, there is also a significant increase in high personal accomplishment, rising from 9.0% in 2014 to 26.7%. We have also detected differences depending on age and professional role.

Conclusion

This study shows worsening burnout levels of primary care professionals in our region, specifically emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. However, it also shows that during the pandemic, personal accomplishment was reinforced.

Prevalence of Burnout in Healthcare Specialties: A Systematic Review Using Copenhagen and Maslach Burnout Inventories

BACKGROUND This systematic review used the Copenhagen (CBI) and the Maslach (MBI) Burnout Inventories and its scales to assess and compare studies that involved students and workers in all medical specialties. MATERIAL AND METHODS PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Wiley Library, and Web of Science databases were searched using keywords and Medical Subject Headings. Identified studies were in English, published between 2008 and 2022, measured the burnout of healthcare workers and students by using CBI and MBI, and observed adverse patient outcomes. RESULTS A total of 38 studies were included in the current review. All included studies assessed and evaluated subjects and participants by observing clinical measures, personal and demographic data, countries where the study was conducted, and study type used. Fifty percent of CBI papers were conducted in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, whereas the majority of MBI papers (10) were conducted in Europe, followed by 9 studies conducted in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries and 6 studies conducted in the USA and Canada. The overall percentage of burnout in CBI studies (53%) was higher than that in MBI studies (35%). Also, the types and domains in CBI were marginally higher than those in MBI. CONCLUSIONS Studies that used CBI scales recorded higher burnout compared with studies that used MBI. Females, higher education levels, and marriage status of the tested subjects showed higher CBI and MBI scale scores in comparison to their counterparts. Higher significant differences percentages in burnout types and genders were recorded in CBI than in MBI.

Increase of burnout among emergency department professionals due to emotional exhaustion during the SARS-Cov2 pandemic: Evolution from 2016 to 2021

The objective is to establish there have been any significant changes in the evolution of levels of burnout and empathy at the different Emergency Department in our region, bearing the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic. This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in a healthy region between November 2020 and January 2021. Lleida emergency care centers. All the doctors and nurses of the health were contacted by email. Empathy was measured using the Spanish version of the Jefferson scale of physician empathy. Burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) in the version validated in Spanish. Sociodemographic data were also recorded. We compared the data with 2016 results. A total of 159 professionals agreed to participate in this study. A significant increase in the MBI score was observed in the 2020 to 2021 sample (39.5 vs 49.7), mostly due to an increase in the MBI-EE (21.5 vs 28.5), as well as an increase in the Jefferson scale of physician empathy score (112 vs 116). (P = .039). There were no differences when analyzing the association between professions (nurses or doctors) or years worked, burnout, and empathy. For 2020 to 2021, the 41 to 50 years age group showed the highest burnout (MBI score). Emergency department practitioners suffered more burnout compared to 2016, especially due to emotional exhaustion (P < .001). Despite practitioners' improved degree of empathy, which had been described as being preventative against burnout, during the COVID-19 pandemic, over-involvement may have led to empathic stress and emotional exhaustion, giving rise to greater burnout.

BURNOUT, RESILIENCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FLEXIBILITY IN FRONTLINE NURSES DURING THE ACUTE PHASE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC (2020) IN MADRID-SPAIN

Background

In April 2020, Spain was the country with the highest number of patients infected by COVID‐19 in Europe. The pressure on health care providers has had a direct impact on nurses and their mental health.

Aim

The aim of this study is to demonstrate the causal relationship between resilience, acceptance, experiential avoidance, psychological inflexibility and burnout syndrome, all of which are measured with validated questionnaires.

Methods

This was designed as a transversal correlational study with nurses who worked during the acute phase of the pandemic in public hospitals in the Community of Madrid with patients diagnosed with COVID‐19 in COVID‐19 medical hospitalization units, emergency services and intensive care units. Google Forms was used to obtain an informed consent sheet, socio‐demographic variables and the following questionnaires: 10 CD‐Risk, Connor‐Davidson Risk Resilience Scale, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire‐II and the Maslach Burnout Inventory.

Results

The final sample included 375 nurses with a high number of consecutive days of direct exposure to an infected patient and a very high number of consecutive days without rest; almost 18% suffered from COVID‐19. The nurses presented medium levels of resilience, medium levels of experiential avoidance and medium levels as measured for emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment and depersonalization. We also found a predictive correlation between all the dimensions of the burnout questionnaire in relation to the data obtained from the resilience questionnaire.

Conclusions

There is a direct and predictive relationship between the resilience that nurses had during the acute phase of the pandemic and their capacity for acceptance, experiential avoidance, psychological inflexibility and burnout syndrome.

Implications for Nursing Management

The scores show the necessity to implement preventive measures to avoid fatal psychological consequences for nurses.

Factor structure of the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey in Spanish urgency healthcare personnel: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is an instrument commonly used to evaluate burnout syndrome. The goal of the present study was to assess the internal reliability and the performance of the items and the subscales of the MBI-HSS (the version for professionals working in human services) by validating its factorial structure in Spanish urgency healthcare personnel.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study including 259 healthcare emergency professionals (physicians and nurses) in the Spanish health region of Lleida and the Pyrenees. Burnout was measured using the Spanish validated version of the MBI-HSS. Internal reliability was estimated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The sampling adequacy was assessed using the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure along with the Bartlett's test of sphericity. A principal axis exploratory factor analysis with an oblique transformation of the solution and a confirmatory factor analysis with maximum likelihood estimation were performed. Goodness-of-fit was assessed by means of the chi-square ratio by the degrees of freedom, the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR), the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) and the comparative fit index (CFI).

RESULTS

The three subscales showed good internal reliability with Cronbach's alpha coefficients exceeding the critical value of 0.7. Exploratory factor analysis revealed five factors with eigenvalues greater than 1. Nevertheless, confirmatory factor analysis showed a relatively satisfactory fit of the three-factor structure (χ²/df = 2.6, SRMR = 0.07, RMSEA = 0.08, TLI = 0.87, CFI = 0.89), which was improved when several items were removed (χ²/df = 1.7, SRMR = 0.04, RMSEA = 0.05, TLI = 0.97, CFI = 0.98).

CONCLUSIONS

Although it is necessary exploring new samples to get to more consistent conclusions, the MBI-HSS is a reliable and factorially valid instrument to evaluate burnout syndrome in health professionals from the Spanish emergency services.

Análise da produção científica sobre a síndrome de burnout em médicos da atenção primária

Introdução: A síndrome de burnout é um transtorno adaptativo ao estresse crônico no ambiente laboral, com consequências tanto na saúde e na qualidade de vida do profissional quanto em sua organização e desempenho no trabalho. Médicos de todas as especialidades estão vulneráveis ao desenvolvimento da síndrome de burnout. Aqueles que atuam na atenção primária à saúde – generalistas e médicos de família e comunidade – parecem apresentar maior risco, visto que estão expostos a diversos estressores no trabalho. As pesquisas sobre a síndrome de burnout em médicos da atenção primária à saúde vêm ganhando destaque nos últimos 20 anos, e a escassez de estudos no Brasil dificulta a caracterização do real impacto dessa síndrome nesses profissionais. Objetivo: Revisar a literatura na busca por publicações relacionadas à síndrome de burnout em médicos da atenção primária à saúde e analisá-las, sistematizando as áreas de interesse. Métodos: Revisão narrativa da literatura sobre a síndrome de burnout em médicos da atenção primária à saúde, por meio de busca sistematizada nas bases eletrônicas PubMed e Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), utilizando os seguintes descritores: "burnout, professional", "physicians, primary care" e "physicians, family". A busca foi realizada em outubro de 2018 e possibilitou a identificação de 192 publicações, das quais 55 foram incluídas na análise e categorizadas quanto a ano de publicação, país de origem, desenho do estudo e áreas de interesse. Resultados: A maior parte dos estudos era do tipo observacional descritivo transversal, metodologia utilizada em 40 trabalhos. Também foram identificadas duas revisões sistemáticas de estudos observacionais, dois estudos descritivos qualitativos, dois estudos longitudinais de coorte, dois ensaios clínicos randomizados, dois artigos de opinião, dois editoriais, um ensaio temporal, uma série temporal e um estudo de caso. Identificamos uma variedade de temas investigados sobre a síndrome de burnout em médicos da atenção primária à saúde, mas são frequentes estudos observacionais que descrevem a prevalência da síndrome nesses profissionais e as diversas variáveis de associação. As mais frequentemente estudadas são as sociodemográficas e as relacionadas ao ambiente laboral ou ao profissional. Percebe-se escassez de estudos que levantem dados epidemiológicos em médicos da atenção primária à saúde no Brasil, passo importante para o conhecimento de como essa síndrome se comporta em nosso meio. Conclusões: Fazem-se necessárias pesquisas de prevalência e sobre o impacto da síndrome de burnout nos médicos da atenção primária à saúde, que investiguem principalmente fatores relacionados ao ambiente e ao processo laboral. Ensaios clínicos podem prover evidências no combate eficaz ao burnout. Estudos qualitativos podem levantar dados sobre as motivações dos profissionais, além de comportamentos, opiniões e expectativas, direcionando estratégias para o enfrentamento dessa síndrome.

Empathy and burnout in medical staff: mediating role of job satisfaction and job commitment

BACKGROUND

Burnout is a growing problem among medical staff worldwide and empathy has been described as an essential competence to attenuate burnout. Previous studies found job satisfaction and job commitment were affected by the empathy and associated with burnout. This study explores the effect and mechanism of empathy on burnout on medical staff and investigates the mediating role of job satisfaction and job commitment in the relationship between empathy and burnout among medical staff.

METHODS

Based on a self-administered questionnaire which included the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to measure burnout, 335 responses from medical staff in Tianjin City, China, yielded data on socio-demographic characteristics, empathy, burnout, job satisfaction and job commitment. Bivariate correlation and structured equation modeling (SEM) analyzed the relationships between empathy, job satisfaction, job commitment and burnout multi-group invariant analysis was used to evaluate whether the model was consistent across different type and level of hospitals and different job and employment type subgroups.

RESULTS

A total of 202 (60.3%) medical staff had low level burnout, 115 (34.3%) staff had the moderate level and 18 (5.4%) staff had the high level burnout. The results of the SEM showed that empathy not only had a direct negative effect on burnout ([Formula: see text], but also had an indirect impact through job satisfaction ([Formula: see text] and job commitment ([Formula: see text]. Job commitment was negatively associated burnout ([Formula: see text] but, unexpectedly, job satisfaction was positively associated with burnout ([Formula: see text]. The results also indicated the model was consistent across employment type ([Formula: see text] = 5.904, p > 0.05) and hospital type ([Formula: see text] = 7.748, p > 0.05), but was inconsistent across hospital level ([Formula: see text] = 42.930, p < 0.05) and job type ([Formula: see text] = 52.912, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results pointed out the important role that empathy plays in addressing burnout and revealed that managing job satisfaction and increasing the job commitment attenuated burnout. We recommend that the government should accelerate the reform of the resourcing of different hospital levels; facilitate hospital managers to implement additional training; and support hospitals to strengthen psychological testing and counseling to reduce medical staff burnout.

Predictors of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in health care workers providing health and rehabilitation services in rural and remote locations: A scoping review

INTRODUCTION

A better understanding of the predictors of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in health care workers in rural and remote communities is needed to inform preventative interventions for this sector of the health workforce.

OBJECTIVE

To identify predictors of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in health care workers providing health and rehabilitation services in rural and remote locations.

DESIGN

A scoping review informed by Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage framework and the scoping review protocol of the PRISMA-ScR statement.

FINDINGS

The search yielded 946 articles, and 34 full texts were screened for eligibility, leaving 12 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. No studies on workers providing rehabilitation services were identified. Three studies assessed possible predictors of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in health care workers, and all studies evaluated burnout. The most studied predictor variables were age, gender, profession and workload.

DISCUSSION

This study identified potential risk and protective factors for health care workers that are likely relevant to those providing rehabilitation services in rural locations. Little is known about possible predictors of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in professionals working in rural and remote areas outside of medicine and nursing or health care workers in rural community-based settings.

CONCLUSION

Research examining predictors of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in rehabilitation health care workers working in rural and remote locations is scant. Research that identifies risk and protective factors in this rapidly growing sector of the health care workforce is needed to inform the development of interventions that promote professional quality of life.

Exposure to High Precariousness Prevalence Negatively Impacts Drug Prescriptions of General Practitioners to Precarious and Non-Precarious Populations: A Retrospective Pharmaco-Epidemiological Study

(1) Background: Precarious patients are more difficult to care for due to low literacy rates and poor adherence to treatment and hospitalization. These difficulties have detrimental effects on general practitioners (GPs), deteriorating medical communication, advice, diagnoses, and drug prescriptions. To better understand how precariousness affects primary care, we tested whether, among GPs, exposure to high precariousness prevalence more severely impacts drug prescriptions to precarious and non-precarious populations compared to low precariousness prevalence. Materials and methods: This pharmaco-epidemiological study, using linear regression analyses, compared the defined daily dose of 20 drugs prescribed by GPs to precarious and non-precarious patients in four French regions with low and high precariousness prevalence in 2015. (2) Findings: Exposure to high precariousness prevalence significantly impacted the prescriptions of nine medications to precarious patients and two medications to non-precarious patients, and distributed into three interaction patterns. (3) Interpretation: The selective over-prescription of drugs with easy intake modalities to precarious patients probably reflects GPs’ attempts to compensate for poor patient compliance. In contrast, the under-prescription of drugs targeting fungal infections in precarious populations and diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in non-precarious populations was seemingly due to a breakdown of empathy and professional exhaustion, causing medical neglect.

Empathy, Burnout, and Attitudes towards Mental Illness among Spanish Mental Health Nurses

Mental health nurses, together with psychiatrists, are the healthcare professionals who display the highest levels of empathy and the best attitudes towards patients with mental disorders. However, burnout is a common problem among these professionals. The aim of our study is to describe the association between empathy, burnout, and attitudes towards patients with mental disorders among mental health nurses in Spain. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used involving a sample of 750 specialist nurses working in mental health facilities in Spain. An intentional, non-probability, non-discriminative, exponential snowball sampling method was used. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Community Attitudes towards Mental Illness Inventory were used to measure the study variables. A positive correlation was observed between empathy and all the study variables, with the exception of the personal accomplishment dimension of burnout and the social restrictiveness and authoritarianism dimensions of attitudes towards mental illness, where a negative relation was observed. Our findings suggest that empathy is associated with an increase in positive attitudes towards patients with mental disorders, decreasing associated stigma, but did not act as a protective factor against burnout in the study sample.

Validation of the Romanian Version of the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) among Undergraduate Medical Students

Medical professionals require adequate abilities to identify others’ emotions and express personal emotions. We aimed to determine the validity and reliability of an empathy measuring tool in medical students for this study. We employed Spreng’s Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) as a starting point for this validation. The process was performed in several steps, including an English-Romanian-English translation and a focus group meeting to establish each question’s degree of understandability and usability, with minor improvements of wording in each step. We checked internal and external consistency in a pilot group (n = 67). For construct and convergent validity, we used a sample of 649 students. The overall internal and external reliability performed well, with Cronbach’s alpha = 0.727 and respective ICC = 0.776. The principal component analysis resulted in 3 components: prosocial helping behavior, inappropriate sensitivity, dismissive attitude. Component 1 includes positively worded questions, and components 2 and 3 include negatively worded questions. Women had significantly higher scores than men in convergent validity, but we did not highlight any differences for other demographic factors. The Romanian version of the TEQ is a reliable and valid tool to measure empathy among undergraduate medical students that may be further used in subsequent research.

Cultivating Empathy and Soft Skills Among Intensive Care Residents: Effects of a Mandatory, Simulation-Based, Experiential Training

Background

Communication with families is crucial in ICU care. However, only a few residency programs include communication and relationship training in their curricula. This study aimed to assess the impact of a communication-skill course on residents’ empathy and self-reported skills.

Material/Methods

A single-center, observational study was conducted. Since 2017, the 4^th-year residents of the Anaesthesia and Intensive Care School, University of Milan attended the mandatory “Program to Enhance Relational and Communication Skills in ICU (PERCS-ICU)”. PERCS-ICU lasted 10 hours and involved small groups of residents. The course was articulated around the simulation and debriefing of 3 difficult conversations with trained actors. Before and after the course, residents completed the Jefferson Scale of Empathy and a questionnaire measuring self-assessed preparation, communication skills, relational skills, confidence, anxiety, emotional awareness, management of emotions, and self-reflection when conducting difficult conversations. The quality and usefulness of the course and the case scenario were assessed on a 5-point Likert scales.

Results

Between 2017 and 2019, 6 PERCS-ICU courses were offered to 71 residents, 69 of whom completed the questionnaires. After the course, residents reported improvements in empathy (p<.05), preparation (p<.001), communication skills (p<.005), confidence (p<.001), self-reflection (p<.001), and emotional awareness (p<.001). Residents perceived the course as very useful (mean=4.79) and high-quality (mean=4.58). The case scenario appeared very realistic (mean=4.83) and extremely useful (mean=4.91). All residents recommended the course to other colleagues.

Conclusions

PERCS-ICU proved to be a well-received and effective course to improve residents’ empathy and some self-reported skills. The long-term effects remain to be investigated.

Effect of burnout among physicians on observed adverse patient outcomes: a literature review

Background

Physician burnout has potentially harmful effects for both physicians and their patients. Despite relationships between physician burnout and lowered patient satisfaction and clinician-rated adverse patient outcomes, there is scarce literature regarding effects on objective patient outcomes. This study aimed to examine the relationship between physician burnout and observed adverse patient outcomes via a review of the literature.

Methods

A search was performed on the MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsychINFO databases, using keywords and Medical Subject Headings. The identified studies were in English, published from 2007 to 2019, measured burnout among physicians using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and included observed adverse patient outcomes. In total, 360 eligible articles were identified, and 11 were included in the final review. All included studies measured patient outcomes by observed clinical measures (e.g. quality of care and medical errors).

Results

Four studies found a clear significant relationship between physician burnout and observed adverse patient outcomes, while 6 did not. One study found a significant relationship with one of the MBI subscales. Burnout was, in contrast to depression, only partly associated with observed patient outcomes.

Conclusions

This review illustrates the need for a validation of physician burnout measured by MBI with respect to observed patient outcomes. Further studies are required to investigate the effects of physician burnout on observed quality of their patient care.

Risk and protective factors for burnout among physicians from standardized residency training programs in Shanghai: a cross-sectional study

Background

High burnout has been reported in physician populations. Although the standardized residency training (SRT) in China includes components that might put residents at a higher risk for burnout, the burnout of Chinese medical residents is unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of burnout and the associated risk and protective factors for medical residents in the SRT program in Shanghai, China.

Methods

This study was a prospective cross-sectional design. A random sampling strategy was used to recruit 330 resident physicians from four SRT sites in Shanghai, and 318 completed questionnaires were returned. Respondents completed a self-made questionnaire including demographic and work characteristics, four burnout and wellness-specific surveys. Bivariate analyses and hierarchical multiple regression models were used to analyze factors associated with three sub-scales of burn out separately.

Results

The overall burnout rate was 71.4%. Low level rate of personal accomplishment (PA) was extremely high at 69.5%. Night shift experience, high occupational stress, and low social support were significant predictors, which explained 49.1% variance of emotional exhaustion (EE) (F = 26.528, P < 0.01). Factors that significantly predicted depersonalization (DP) included male gender, senior residents, night shift experience, high occupational stress, and low psychological empathy, which explained 51.5% variance totally (F = 29.004, P < 0.01). Senior residents, high income, low occupational stress, and high empathy were also significant predictors of decreased personal achievement (PA), which explained 18.4% variance totally (F = 12.897, P < 0.01).

Conclusions

There was a high burnout rate among SRT residents in Shanghai. Occupational stress and several work-related factors were significant and strong risk factors for burnout, while empathy and social support were mild protective factors. Decreased work-related demands and increased access to resources could assist residents in reducing their work stress and improving their well-being.

A systematic review of psychometric assessment of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy using the COSMIN Risk of Bias checklist

INTRODUCTION

Empathic communication in health care may enhance positive patient and health care professional relationships, patient satisfaction and can buffer professional burnout. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) was developed based on the need to quantitatively measure levels of empathy, particularly in health care settings. Evaluating the utility of empathy is underpinned by the psychometric rigour of the instruments used to measure it. The aim of this study was to critically evaluate the current evidence on the measurement properties of the JSE.

METHODS

Two reviewers independently searched six databases for papers describing psychometric assessment of the JSE from January 2000 to July 2018 inclusive. The studies were independently assessed for methodological quality using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) Risk of Bias checklist.

RESULTS

The search strategy resulted in the retrieval of 985 papers, of which 59 were included in this study. The majority of papers reported on measures of structural validity and internal consistency, and it was in these areas which the highest quality of reporting was demonstrated. Additionally, there was a generally very good quality in reporting of convergent validity. Reliability, measurement error, cross-cultural validity were reported with less than optimum quality.

CONCLUSION

The JSE demonstrates robust structural validity, internal consistency, and convergent validity. These measurement properties are generally well reported in the literature in studies of good methodological quality, and thus may be interpreted with relative confidence when used in empathy research. However, current evidence is limited for the properties of reliability, measurement error, and cross-cultural validity. Thus, a degree of caution should be considered in drawing conclusions when using the JSE with regard to these properties. It is recommended that future examinations of the JSE refer to the COSMIN guidelines to ensure complete and well-reported psychometric data are included.

Communicative and Social Skills among Medical Students in Spain: A Descriptive Analysis

Effective risk communication in public health requires the development of social skills such as active listening and empathy. Communicative and social skills were evaluated in third-year medical students (n = 917) using the Active Listening Test and the Test of Cognitive and Affective Empathy. The results obtained revealed that our participants had equal or better-than-norm communication skills. Women scored higher in active listening whereas men scored higher on the General Empathy Scale. The students who preferred a clinical specialty obtained higher scores in active listening and empathetic abilities, as compared to students who chose a surgical specialty. In conclusion, the medical students who participated in the study exhibited good communicative and social skills. An association was observed between gender and specialty preference, and empathy and active listening skills.

Caring for Critically Ill Patients: Clinicians' Empathy Promotes Job Satisfaction and Does Not Predict Moral Distress

Background

Several studies have highlighted the benefits of empathy in healthcare settings. A correlation between clinicians' empathy and patients' adherence and satisfaction, as well as the ability for the clinician to accurately assess family members' needs, has been found. However, empathy is often seen by clinicians as a risk factor for their wellbeing. This study aims to assess whether the level of empathy of clinicians working in critical care settings may expose them to moral distress, poor job satisfaction, and intention to quit their job.

Methods

Italian clinicians who attended the 2016 "Smart Meeting Anesthesia Resuscitation in Intensive Care" completed the Empathy Quotient questionnaire, the Moral Distress Scale-Revised, and two questions assessing job satisfaction and intention to quit the job. Multiple linear and logistic regressions were performed to determine if clinicians' empathy influences moral distress, job satisfaction, and intention to quit. Age, gender, and profession were used as control variables.

Results

Out of 927 questionnaires distributed, 216 were returned (23% response rate) and 210 were used in the analyses. Respondents were 56% physicians, 24% nurses, and 20% residents. Over half of the clinicians (58%) were female. Empathy resulted the only significant predictor of job satisfaction (β = 0.193; p < 0.05). None of the variables included in the model predicted moral distress.

Conclusion

Empathy determined neither moral distress nor intention to quit. Findings suggest that empathy is not a risk factor for critical care clinicians in developing moral distress and the intention to quit their job. On the contrary, empathy was found to enhance clinicians' job satisfaction.

Medical Students' Empathy Level Differences by Medical Year, Gender, and Specialty Interest in Akdeniz University

BACKGROUND

As an important feature in patient-physician communication for both primary and clinical care, empathy is one of the basic competencies that physicians should possess. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the level of empathy among medical students in all years of medical training using two different instruments: the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (for clinical empathy level) and the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (for general empathy level).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in 2017-2018 academic year with students studying at Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine. Data collection form, Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) and Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) was applied to the students by the researchers. The statistical analysis was carried out by using IBM-SPSS version 23 for Mac OS. T-test, ANOVA test, Spearman and Pearson correlation analysis were used for comparisons.

RESULTS

The mean TEQ score of the students was 52.8/65 and the JSPE-S score was 80.3/100. TEQ scores of students increased up to 4th year and then decreased, but the difference between the years was not statistically significant. The third year students' JSPE-S scores were significantly higher than that of the sixth year students.

CONCLUSION

While the clinical empathy levels of medical students decreased significantly after 3rd year, the general empathy levels decreased less. This result shows us that we should review our medical education curriculum and educational environment, and should initiate initiatives, and devote more time to empathy education in order to prevent the decrease in empathy level and increase empathy during medical education.

Cross-sectional study of the association between empathy and burnout and drug prescribing quality in primary care

Objective:

The aim of this study was to assess whether burnout and empathy levels among general practitioners (GPs) might influence prescribing performance assessed using pharmaceutical prescription quality standard indicators.

Design and Setting:

Cross-sectional descriptive study of 108 GPs from 22 primary care centers in Lleida, Spain, and of centralized data corresponding to 183 600 patients under their care. The study was conducted between May and July 2014.

Main Outcome Measures:

Burnout and empathy were measured using the Spanish versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Jefferson Scale for Physician Empathy, and prescribing quality was measured using the Catalan Pharmaceutical Prescription Quality Standard (EQPF). Normal distribution of scores was verified using the Chi-square and Kolmogorov–Smirnov–Lilliefors tests. The effect of each of the variables was evaluated using crude odds ratios.

Results:

Older GPs scored significantly higher in the EQPF (P < 0.05). High empathy scores were positively associated with high EQPF scores. GPs with low burnout also performed better in the EQPF.

Conclusions:

More empathic, less burned-out, older GPs showed better prescribing performance according to quality indicators. However, further studies are needed to evaluate other factors influencing prescribing habits. The promotion of communication skills may increase empathy and reduce burnout, thus benefiting patients.

The Positive Association Between Empathy and Self-Esteem in Chinese Medical Students: A Multi-Institutional Study

Background

Empathy is an important element of the physician-patient relationship and is a critical personality trait for medical students. However, research has shown that it declines during undergraduate medical education. It is still unclear how empathy interrelates with the psychological elements of medical students, in particular, self-esteem. This study examined the relationship between empathy and self-esteem to explore other possible methods to improve medical students’ empathy.

Methods

A stratified sampling strategy was used to select 1690 medical students from 3 medical institutions in Shanghai as study participants. The questionnaires used to collect data included the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Student Version (JSPE-S), the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES), and a self-made inventory on personal information. Descriptive analysis, independent t-test, One-Way ANOVA, and linear regression were used to analyze the data.

Results

The mean empathy score among medical students was 102.73 with SD = 12.64. Multiple regression analysis revealed that, “age,” “perception of the importance of empathy,” “academic pressure,” “desire to be a doctor after graduation,” and “self-esteem” were significant predictors of empathy (P < 0.05) and the adjusted R² was 0.462. The correlation matrix between empathy and self-esteem was significant (r = 0.510, P < 0.01). Self-esteem explained 15.5% of the variation of empathy in the final regression model.

Conclusion

There was a positive association between self-esteem and empathy. Self-esteem is one of many factors which contribute to medical students’ empathy. Age, academic pressure, attitude toward empathy and future career also play a critical role in medical student empathy. Enhancing medical students’ self-esteem may be an efficacious way to improve medical students’ empathy.

Physician workload associated with do-not-resuscitate decision-making in intensive care units: an observational study using Cox proportional hazards analysis

Background

Physicians play a substantial role in facilitating communication regarding life-supporting treatment decision-making including do-not-resuscitate (DNR) in the intensive care units (ICU). Physician-related factors including gender, personal preferences to life-supporting treatment, and specialty have been found to affect the timing and selection of life-supporting treatment decision-making. This study aimed to examine the influence of physician workload on signing a DNR order in the ICUs.

Methods

This is retrospective observational study. The medical records of patients, admitted to the surgical ICUs for the first time between June 1, 2011 and December 31, 2013, were reviewed. We used a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model to examine the influence of the physician’s workload on his/her writing a DNR order by adjusting for multiple factors. We then used Kaplan–Meier survival curves with log-rank test to compare the time from ICU admission to DNR orders written for patients for two groups of physicians based on the average number of patients each physician cared for per day during data collection period.

Results

The hazard of writing a DNR order by the attending physicians who cared for more than one patient per day significantly decreased by 41% as compared to the hazard of writing a DNR order by those caring for fewer than one patient (hazard ratio = 0.59, 95% CI 0.39—0.89, P = .01). In addition, the factors associated with writing a DNR order as determined by the Cox model were non-operative, cardiac failure/insufficiency diagnosis (hazard ratio = 1.71, 95% CI 1.00—2.91, P = .05) and the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System score (hazard ratio = 1.02, 95% CI 1.00—1.03, P = .03). Physicians who cared for more than one patient per day were less likely to write a DNR order for their patients than those who cared for in average fewer than one patient per day (log-rank chi-square = 5.72, P = .02).

Conclusions

Our findings highlight the need to take multidisciplinary actions for physicians with heavy workloads. Changes in the work environmental factors along with stress management programs to improve physicians’ psychological well-being as well as the quality.

The role of empathy and psychological need satisfaction in pharmacy students' burnout and well-being

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Korean pharmacy students' empathy and psychological need satisfaction and their levels of burnout and psychological well-being, using structural equation modeling.

METHODS

The participants were 452 pharmacy students from five South Korean universities. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (Health Professions Students version), the Activity-Feeling States Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey were used to assess empathy, psychological need satisfaction, and burnout, respectively. Psychological well-being was measured with the Mood Rating Scale, Self-Esteem Scale, and Satisfaction With Life Scale. The fits of the measurement and structural regression (SR) models with data on the four variables were evaluated using the Tucker-Lewis index (TLI), incremental fit index (IFI), comparative fit index (CFI), and root mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) using AMOS 18.0.

RESULTS

A total of 447 students (98.9%) completed the survey. The measurement model showed adequate fit indices; all hypothesized factor loadings were significant. The proposed SR model also showed an acceptable fit (TLI = 0.92, IFI = 0.94, CFI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.072); each path was supported except the path from empathy to burnout (β = 0.005). Empathy was positively associated with psychological well-being (β = 0.18). Perceived satisfaction of psychological needs was positively related to psychological well-being (β = 0.59), but strongly and negatively related to burnout (β = - 0.71). The model explained 50 and 44% of variances in burnout and psychological well-being, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Pharmacy students' empathy and psychological needs should be considered in pharmacy education systems to promote psychological adjustment.

Is Balint training associated with the reduced burnout among primary health care doctors?

The aim of our study was to examine whether the participation in Balint group is associated with the reducing burnout syndrome among primary health care doctors. This investigation was conducted on a population of 210 doctors employed in primary health centers in Belgrade. Out of 210 doctors, 70 have completed Balint training for a period of at least 1 year, whereas 140 doctors have never attended this training (the Non-Balint group). The level of burnout among physicians was assessed with the Serbian translation of the original 22-item version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey which defines burnout in relation to emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment. We found that 45.0% of the Non-Balint participants and 7.1% of the Balint-trained participants responded with symptoms of high level of emotional exhaustion, with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). In relation to depersonalization, 20% of the Non-Balint subjects were highly depersonalized compared to 4.4% of the Balint-trained subjects, with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). Regarding the personal accomplishment, 21.4% of the Non-Balint subjects and 7.1% of the Balint-trained subjects had a perception of low personal accomplishment, with a statistical significance (p < 0.001). In the multiple ordinal logistic model, with emotional exhaustion as a dependent variable, statistically significant predictor was female gender (OR = 2.51; p = 0.021), while Balint training was obtained as a protective factor (OR = 0.12; p < 0.001). Non-specialists were detected as a risk factor for depersonalization (OR = 2.14; p = 0.026) while Balint group was found as a protective factor (OR = 0.10; p < 0.001), according to the multiple ordinal logistic regression analysis. Regarding the reduced personal accomplishment, our results indicated that nonspecialists were at risk for this subdimension (OR = 2.09; p = 0.025), whereas Balint participants were protected (OR = 0.18; p < 0.001). Participation in Balint groups is associated with the reduced burnout syndrome among primary health care doctors.

The Issue of Burnout and Work Satisfaction in Younger GPs-A Cluster Analysis Utilizing the HaMEdSi Study

The shortage of general practitioners (GPs) in Germany has become a relevant problem. Therefore, it is important to find the determinants that make primary care more attractive, and which support GPs remaining in practice. Our aim in this exploratory study was to search for relevant GP subgroups and their characteristics in order to find starting points for improvements or interventions. We attempted a comprehensive survey of all GPs in the German region of Siegen-Wittgenstein with about 280,000 inhabitants. There were 158 GPs in the total population; 85 of these (53.8%) took part in the study. There were 64 male GPs (75.3%) in our sample. The mean age of the participants was 53.5 years (SD 8.93). The questionnaire was composed of demographic questions, questions regarding future perspectives, the Motivation for Medical Education Questionnaire (MoME-Q), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and the Work Satisfaction Questionnaire. K-means cluster analyses were used for subgrouping. A 2-cluster solution had good statistical quality criteria. Cluster 1 was characterised by elderly GPs who more frequently had a resident physician in their practices. These GPs had low burnout scores and high work satisfaction scores. Cluster 2 consisted of younger GPs who less frequently had a resident in their practices. They had average burnout scores according to published norms and lower work satisfaction scores. There seems to be an age cohort effect regarding burnout and work satisfaction. Having a resident physician seems to be protective. Interventions should be designed for younger GPs, especially members of generation Y, to reduce burnout and improve work satisfaction.

Association Between Physician Burnout and Patient Safety, Professionalism, and Patient Satisfaction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

IMPORTANCE

Physician burnout has taken the form of an epidemic that may affect core domains of health care delivery, including patient safety, quality of care, and patient satisfaction. However, this evidence has not been systematically quantified.

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether physician burnout is associated with an increased risk of patient safety incidents, suboptimal care outcomes due to low professionalism, and lower patient satisfaction.

DATA SOURCES

MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycInfo, and CINAHL databases were searched until October 22, 2017, using combinations of the key terms physicians, burnout, and patient care. Detailed standardized searches with no language restriction were undertaken. The reference lists of eligible studies and other relevant systematic reviews were hand-searched.

STUDY SELECTION

Quantitative observational studies.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Two independent reviewers were involved. The main meta-analysis was followed by subgroup and sensitivity analyses. All analyses were performed using random-effects models. Formal tests for heterogeneity (I2) and publication bias were performed.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The core outcomes were the quantitative associations between burnout and patient safety, professionalism, and patient satisfaction reported as odds ratios (ORs) with their 95% CIs.

RESULTS

Of the 5234 records identified, 47 studies on 42 473 physicians (25 059 [59.0%] men; median age, 38 years [range, 27-53 years]) were included in the meta-analysis. Physician burnout was associated with an increased risk of patient safety incidents (OR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.59-2.40), poorer quality of care due to low professionalism (OR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.87-2.85), and reduced patient satisfaction (OR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.42-3.68). The heterogeneity was high and the study quality was low to moderate. The links between burnout and low professionalism were larger in residents and early-career (≤5 years post residency) physicians compared with middle- and late-career physicians (Cohen Q = 7.27; P = .003). The reporting method of patient safety incidents and professionalism (physician-reported vs system-recorded) significantly influenced the main results (Cohen Q = 8.14; P = .007).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

This meta-analysis provides evidence that physician burnout may jeopardize patient care; reversal of this risk has to be viewed as a fundamental health care policy goal across the globe. Health care organizations are encouraged to invest in efforts to improve physician wellness, particularly for early-career physicians. The methods of recording patient care quality and safety outcomes require improvements to concisely capture the outcome of burnout on the performance of health care organizations.

Prevalence of Burnout Among Physicians: A Systematic Review

Importance

Burnout is a self-reported job-related syndrome increasingly recognized as a critical factor affecting physicians and their patients. An accurate estimate of burnout prevalence among physicians would have important health policy implications, but the overall prevalence is unknown.

Objective

To characterize the methods used to assess burnout and provide an estimate of the prevalence of physician burnout.

Data Sources and Study Selection

Systematic search of EMBASE, ERIC, MEDLINE/PubMed, psycARTICLES, and psycINFO for studies on the prevalence of burnout in practicing physicians (ie, excluding physicians in training) published before June 1, 2018.

Data Extraction and Synthesis

Burnout prevalence and study characteristics were extracted independently by 3 investigators. Although meta-analytic pooling was planned, variation in study designs and burnout ascertainment methods, as well as statistical heterogeneity, made quantitative pooling inappropriate. Therefore, studies were summarized descriptively and assessed qualitatively.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Point or period prevalence of burnout assessed by questionnaire.

Results

Burnout prevalence data were extracted from 182 studies involving 109 628 individuals in 45 countries published between 1991 and 2018. In all, 85.7% (156/182) of studies used a version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to assess burnout. Studies variably reported prevalence estimates of overall burnout or burnout subcomponents: 67.0% (122/182) on overall burnout, 72.0% (131/182) on emotional exhaustion, 68.1% (124/182) on depersonalization, and 63.2% (115/182) on low personal accomplishment. Studies used at least 142 unique definitions for meeting overall burnout or burnout subscale criteria, indicating substantial disagreement in the literature on what constituted burnout. Studies variably defined burnout based on predefined cutoff scores or sample quantiles and used markedly different cutoff definitions. Among studies using instruments based on the MBI, there were at least 47 distinct definitions of overall burnout prevalence and 29, 26, and 26 definitions of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment prevalence, respectively. Overall burnout prevalence ranged from 0% to 80.5%. Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment prevalence ranged from 0% to 86.2%, 0% to 89.9%, and 0% to 87.1%, respectively. Because of inconsistencies in definitions of and assessment methods for burnout across studies, associations between burnout and sex, age, geography, time, specialty, and depressive symptoms could not be reliably determined.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this systematic review, there was substantial variability in prevalence estimates of burnout among practicing physicians and marked variation in burnout definitions, assessment methods, and study quality. These findings preclude definitive conclusions about the prevalence of burnout and highlight the importance of developing a consensus definition of burnout and of standardizing measurement tools to assess the effects of chronic occupational stress on physicians.

Cross-sectional study of the association between healthcare professionals' empathy and burnout and the number of annual primary care visits per patient under their care in Spain

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between physician and nurse self-reported empathy and burnout and the number of annual primary care visits per patient under their care.

METHODS

Design: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted from January 2013 to July 2014. Site: The 22 primary care centres of the Lleida Health Region in Spain.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to measure empathy and burnout, respectively. The number of visits and the number of diagnoses coded per visit were obtained through the Region's electronic health record.

RESULTS

Two hundred and sixty-seven healthcare professionals (physicians and nurses, 52.6% participation of the total in the region) with 301 657 patients under their care. Healthcare professionals' degree of burnout and empathy was associated with the number of annual visits per patient under their care. Burned out nurses and physicians received fewer visits (4.5vs3.7 in nurses and 18.1vs18.9 in physicians), whereas more empathic physicians received more visits per patient (19.4vs17.2, p<0.05) and documented more diagnoses per visit (10.2vs9.7, p=0.001). Less burned out and less empathic nurses documented more diagnoses per visit (10.2vs10.0 and 8.2vs9.9, p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The number of annual primary care visits per patient that healthcare professionals receive is closely associated with healthcare professionals' empathy and burnout. These results should serve to promote empathic skills and establish organisational changes that promote efficiency in the practice and, in turn, reduce the degree of burnout of healthcare professionals.

Do Gold Humanism Honor Society Inductees Differ From Their Peers in Empathy, Patient-Centeredness, Tolerance of Ambiguity, Coping Style, and Perception of the Learning Environment?

Construct: Induction into the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) during medical school is recognized as an indicator of humanistic orientation and behavior. Various attitudes and interpersonal orientations including empathy and patient-centeredness have been posited to translate into behaviors constituting humanistic care.

BACKGROUND

To our knowledge there has never been a longitudinal, multi-institutional empirical study of the attitudinal and interpersonal orientations correlated with GHHS membership status.

APPROACH

We used the American Medical Association Learning Environment Study (LES) data set to explore attitudinal correlates associated with students whose behaviors are recognized by their peers as being exceptionally humanistic. Specifically, we examined whether empathy, patient-centeredness, tolerance of ambiguity, coping style, and perceptions of the learning environment are associated with GHHS membership status. We further considered to what extent GHHS members arrive in medical school with these attitudinal correlates and to what extent they change and evolve differentially among GHHS members compared to their non-GHHS peers. Between 2011 and 2015, 585 students from 13 North American medical schools with GHHS chapters participated in the LES, a longitudinal cohort study using a battery of validated psychometric measures including the Jefferson Scale of Empathy, Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale and Tolerance of Ambiguity Questionnaire. In the final survey administration, students self-identified as GHHS inductees or not (non-GHHS). T tests, effect sizes, and longitudinal generalized mixed-effects models examined the differences between GHHS and non-GHHS students.

RESULTS

Students inducted into GHHS scored significantly higher on average over 4 years than non-GHHS inductees on clinical empathy, patient-centered beliefs, and tolerance of ambiguity. GHHS students reported higher levels of empathy and patient-centeredness at medical school matriculation. This difference persists in the 4th year of medical school and when controlling for time, race, gender, and school.

CONCLUSIONS

GHHS inductees enter medical school with different attitudes and beliefs than their non-GHHS classmates. Although humanistic attitudes and beliefs vary over time during students' 4 years, the gap between the two groups remains constant. Medical schools may want to consider selecting for specific humanistic traits during admissions as well as fostering the development of humanism through curricular interventions.

Empathy and Burnout in Slovenian Family Medicine Doctors: The First Presentation of Jefferson Scale of Empathy Results

Background

Study aimed to assess the burnout prevalence and level of empathic attitude in family medicine doctors (FMDs) and its associations with demographic factors, working conditions and physician health, using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy - Health Professional version (JSE-HP).

Methods

Slovenian FMDs (n=316, response rate 56%) completed an online socio-demographic questionnaire, with questions on working conditions, physician health, and the Slovenian versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the JSE-HP. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used, applying linear regression to calculate associations between demographic variables, factors of empathy and burnout dimensions, P<0.05 was set as a limit of statistical significance.

Results

Of the 316 participants, aged 40±10.2 years, 57 (18%) were men. The FMDs achieved mean scores on the JSE-HP (JSE_tot of 112.8±10.2 and on the MBI 27.8±11.6 for EE, 10.8±5.5 for D and 33.5±6.0 for PA. High burnout was reported in one dimension by 24.8% of participants, in two by 17.2%, and by 6% in all three dimensions. Multivariate analysis revealed a higher EE and D and lower PA in specialists as opposed to trainees. Higher EE was also identified in older physicians having longer work experience, working in a rural setting, dealing with more than 40 patients/day and having a chronic illness. The latter was also associated with higher JSE_tot. JSE_tot was negatively associated with D, while PA was positively associated with JSE_tot and Perspective Taking.

Conclusion

The incidence of burnout warns both physicians and decision-makers against too heavy workload, especially in older professionals.

The relationship between empathy and burnout - lessons for paramedics: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

The concepts of empathy and burnout are critical for practicing paramedics and the profession. While there has been an increasing body of research on the relationship between empathy and burnout with physicians and nurses, surprisingly, no research has been undertaken with paramedics. The aim of this scoping review was to explore the relationship between empathy and burnout.

METHOD

A scoping review was performed based on Arskey and O'Malley's framework. Five databases were searched: CINAHL plus, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Scopus. Google Scholar was searched for gray literature. Two reviewers independently assessed eligibility and extracted the data.

RESULTS

The initial search produced a yield of 1270 articles after removal of duplicates. All abstracts were screened for relevance, and 30 articles were selected for further screening. Twenty six articles were deemed relevant, of which there were 23 cross-sectional studies, two editorials, and one description article on the multidimensional aspect of burnout and empathy. The studies were conducted in Europe, USA, North America, and Asia. In most studies, there was an inverse correlation between empathy and emotional exhaustion and depersonalization but a positive correlation with personal accomplishment.

CONCLUSION

Although there seems to be a real relationship between empathy and burnout in physicians and nurses, the strength of the relationship differs to some extent depending on the samples and settings. Due to similarities between health professions, the relationship between empathy and burnout may also be relevant to the paramedic profession. Future paramedic research should focus on longitudinal studies to determine the factors that might influence empathy and burnout levels to provide a better understanding of these two key factors.

Burnout Syndrome prevalence of on-call surgeons in a trauma reference hospital and its correlation with weekly workload: cross-sectional study

Objective:

to determine the prevalence of Burnout Syndrome (BS) for surgeons working in referral hospital for trauma in Maceio and to evaluate the possible correlation between BS and weekly workload.

Methods:

cross-sectional study with 43 on-call surgeons at Professor Osvaldo Brandão Vilela General State Hospital, Maceió, between July and December, 2015. A self-administered form was used to evaluate BS through the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and socio-demographic characteristics among participants. Spearman's S test was used to compare BS and weekly workload. Significant level was 5%.

Results:

among the surgeons studied, 95.35% were male and the mean age was 43.9 ± 8.95 years. The mean weekly workload on call in trauma was 33.90 ± 16.82 hours. The frequency of high scores in at least one of the three dimensions of MBI was 46.5%. Professional achievement was correlated with weekly workload (P = 0.020).

Conclusion:

the prevalence of Burnout Syndrome among on-call surgeons in referral hospital for trauma was 46.5%. In this sample there was correlation between weekly workload and the Burnout Syndrome.

Objetivo:

determinar a prevalência da Síndrome de Burnout (SB) em médicos cirurgiões que trabalham em hospital de referência para o trauma em Maceió e avaliar a possível correlação entre SB e a carga horária semanal de trabalho.

Métodos:

estudo transversal com 43 cirurgiões de plantão do Hospital Geral do Estado Professor Osvaldo Brandão Vilela, Maceió, entre julho e dezembro de 2015. Um formulário autoadministrado foi utilizado para avaliar SB por meio do Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) e as características sociodemográficas entre os participantes. Foi utilizado o teste de Spearman S para comparar SB e carga horária semanal. O nível de significância foi 5%.

Resultados:

entre os cirurgiões estudados, 95,35% eram do sexo masculino e a média de idade foi 43,9±8,95 anos. A média da carga horária semanal de plantão no trauma foi 33,90±16,82 horas. A frequência de pontuações elevadas em pelo menos uma das três dimensões do MBI foi 46,5%. Realização profissional foi correlacionada com a carga de trabalho semanal (P=0,020).

Conclusão:

a prevalência da Síndrome de Burnout entre cirurgiões plantonistas em hospital de referência para o trauma foi 46,5%. Nesta amostra houve correlação entre a carga horária semanal de trabalho e a Síndrome de Burnout.

Descriptive study of association between quality of care and empathy and burnout in primary care

Background

The doctor-patient relationship is a crucial aspect of primary-care practice Research on associations between quality of care provision and burnout and empathy in a primary care setting could improve this relationship.

Methods

Cross-sectional study of family physicians (108) and nurses (112) of twenty-two primary care centers in the health district of Lleida, Spain.

Empathy and burnout were measured using the Jefferson Physician Empathy Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory, while quality of care delivery was evaluated using Quality Standard Indicator scores. JPSE and MBI results were grouped into low, medium, and high scores to analyze associations with QSI scores and sociodemographic variables.

Results

The mean QSI score recorded for the family physicians and nurses was 665 (out of a total of 1000). Higher, albeit insignificant, QSI scores were observed for practitioners with high burnout. No differences were observed according to level of empathy (p > 0.05). The differences with respect to sex, age, and area of practice (urban vs rural center) were not significant. Practitioners with low empathy had higher QSI scores than those with high empathy (672.8 vs. 654.4) while those with high burnout had higher scores than those with low burnout (702 vs. 671).

Conclusions

Burnout and empathy did not significantly influence quality of care delivery scores in 22 primary care centers. More studies, however, are needed to investigate the unexpected trend observed that suggests that physicians and nurses with higher levels of burnout provide higher quality care.

Examining the relationship between burnout and empathy in healthcare professionals: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Empathy and burnout are two related yet distinct constructs that are relevant to clinical healthcare staff. The nature of their relationship is uncertain and this review aimed to complete a rigorous, systematic exploration of the literature investigating the relationship between burnout and empathy in healthcare staff.

DESIGN

A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidance.

DATA SOURCES

Search terms (Burnout OR Burn-out OR "Burn out") AND (Empathy OR Empath*) enabled identification of studies investigating burnout and empathy in healthcare staff, using five electronic data bases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus, PubMed, and SCOPUS). Manual searching amongst reference lists of eligible articles was also completed.

REVIEW METHODS

Databases were searched for studies published in the English language, from inception to February 2017. Key inclusion criteria were: 1) participants who were nurses or medical professionals, 2) full written manuscript in English, 3) use of the Maslach Burnout Inventory to assess burnout and a standardized outcome measure for empathy, 4) quantitative methodology exclusively.

RESULTS

Ten eligible studies were reviewed. Of those, seven were conducted in countries where English was not the first language. Eight of the studies provided empirical support for a negative relationship between empathy and burnout. One study provided support for a positive relationship between burnout and empathy. One study reported contradictory evidence with positive and negative correlations between different subscales of the empathy and burnout measures. In general, the quality of the studies was assessed to be good. However, some of the studies failed to provide information pertaining to sample size, with the reporting of data less than adequate from one study.

CONCLUSIONS

There was consistent evidence for a negative association between burnout and empathy. This review avoided a common English-speaking country bias of some areas of the literature. Given that all of the studies reviewed were cross sectional, further research is necessary to establish causality.

Empathy and burnout of emergency professionals of a health region: A cross-sectional study

The objective of this study is to assess the association between levels of empathy and burnout of emergency professionals in all the assistance levels.A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the health region of Lleida and the Pyrenees with 100 professionals from the field of Urgency. Participation reached 40.8%. Empathy and burnout were measured using the Spanish versions of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) respectively. The total MBI score and its 3 dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment) were analyzed. The JSPE and MBI scores were categorized into tertiles that were identified as "low," "moderate," and "high" levels.The median (interquartile range) was 112 (102-123) and 37 (27-53.5) for the JSPE and MBI scores respectively. Professionals with high burnout (MBI≥47) showed the lowest levels of empathy, that is, JSPE score of 105 (98-114); those with moderate burnout (31≤MBI < 47) had a JSPE score of 114 (104.5-120.5); and those with low burnout (MBI < 31) had a JSPE score of 120.5 (105.8-127.2). In addition, the highest levels of empathy were associated with the lowest levels of burnout, especially in depersonalization, and to a lesser extent in personal accomplishment. There were no differences in empathy and burnout for any of the other study variables.Our findings suggest that the empathy of emergency professionals is associated with burnout. Hence, reducing professional burnout could help keep emergency professionals' empathy levels high, which in turn would ensure a better quality of care. Nevertheless, it would be necessary to carry out prospective studies to describe the profiles of burnout and empathy as well as their association and evolution.

Human Connections and Their Roles in the Occupational Well-being of Healthcare Professionals: A Study on Loneliness and Empathy

Human connections are key to the promotion of health and prevention of illness; moreover, illness can cause deterioration of human connections. Healthcare professional–patient relationships are key to ensuring the preservation of adequate human connections. It is important for healthcare professionals to develop their ability to foster satisfactory human connections because: (i) they represent social support for patients; and (ii) they prevent work-related stress. In this study we assessed the relationship between absence (loneliness) and presence (empathy) of human connections with the occupational well-being of healthcare professionals. The Scale of Collateral Effects, which measures somatization, exhaustion, and work alienation; the Jefferson Scale of Empathy; and the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults, were mailed to 628 healthcare professionals working in Spanish public healthcare institutions. The following explanatory variables were used to evaluate work well-being: (a) empathy, as a professional competence; (b) loneliness, age, and family burden, as psychological indicators; and (c) professional experience, work dedication, and salary, as work indicators. Comparison, correlation, and regression analyses were performed to measure the relationships among these variables and occupational well-being. Of 628 surveys mailed, 433 (69% response rate) were returned fully completed. Adequate reliability was confirmed for all instruments. The entire sample was divided into four groups, based on the combined variable, “occupation by sex.” Comparative analyses demonstrated differences among “occupation by sex” groups in collateral effects (p = 0.03) and empathy (p = 0.04), but not loneliness (p = 0.84). Inverse associations between empathy and collateral effects were confirmed for somatization (r = -0.16; p < 0.001), exhaustion (r = -0.14; p = 0.003), and work alienation (r = -0.16; p < 0.001). Furthermore, loneliness was positively associated with collateral effects (r = 0.22; p < 0.001). Neither family burden, nor work dedication to clinics or management activities were associated with the three collateral effects measured. These findings support an important role for empathy in the prevention of work stress in healthcare professionals. They also confirm that loneliness, as a multidimensional and domain specific experience, is detrimental to occupational well-being.

Occupational burnout and empathy influence blood pressure control in primary care physicians

BACKGROUND

Good physician-patient communication can favor the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits, which is essential in high blood pressure (BP) management. More empathic physicians tend to have lower burnout and better communication skills. We analyzed the association between burnout and empathy among primary care physicians and nurses and investigated the influence on BP control performance.

METHODS

Descriptive study conducted in 2014 investigating burnout and empathy levels in 267 primary care physicians and nurses and BP control data for 301,657 patients under their care. We administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy and defined good BP control as a systolic BP <130 mmHg.

RESULTS

Low burnout and high empathy were observed in 58.8% and 33.7% of practitioners, respectively. Burnout and empathy were significantly negatively associated (p < 0.009). Practitioners with high empathy and low burnout had significantly better BP control and performance than those with low empathy and high burnout (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Low burnout and high empathy were significantly associated with improved BP control and performance, possibly in relation to better physician/nurse-patient communication.

Physician empowerment programme; a unique workshop for physician-managers of community clinics

BACKGROUND

The physician manager role in the health care system is invaluable as they serve as role models and quality setters. The requirements from physician managers have become more demanding and the role less prestigious; yet burnout and its prevention in this group have received little attention. Physician leadership development programmes have generally dealt directly with skill and knowledge acquisition. The aim of this research was to evaluate an intensive workshop designed to modify attitudes and improve skills of physician-managers of community clinics, through focus on personal well-being and empowerment.

METHODS

Two hundred fifty six physicians affiliated with Clalit Health Services, the largest health maintenance organization in Israel, participated in 16 IMPACT courses during the years 2013-2015. The programme comprised five full days during a two-week period, including an overnight and follow-up meetings three and six weeks later. Theoretical knowledge, experiential learning, practical tools, deep personal exercises, and simulations were conveyed through individual and group work. Topics included: models of self-awareness, outcome thinking, determining a personal and organizational vision, and creating a personal approach to leadership. At the end of each course, and by email at 6 or more months after completion of the course, participants were asked to anonymously respond to closed questions (on a scale of 1-6) and an open question.

RESULTS

Mean scores for the contribution of IMPACT to participants' role of physician manager were 5.3 at the end of the course, and 4.7 at 6 or more months later. Mean scores at 6 or more months were 5.0 regarding the contribution of the programme to personal development, 4.4 regarding satisfaction in the role of physician manager, and 4.6 regarding their coping with managerial dilemmas.

CONCLUSION

A workshop that focused on personal growth and self-awareness increased physicians' job satisfaction and their sense of managerial capability, coping with managerial dilemmas, and belonging to the organization.

Association between low empathy and high burnout among primary care physicians and nurses in Lleida, Spain

Background: Burnout is a growing problem among healthcare professionals and may be mitigated and even prevented by measures designed to promote empathy and resilience.

Objectives: We studied the association between burnout and empathy in primary care practitioners in Lleida, Spain and investigated possible differences according to age, sex, profession, and place of practice (urban versus rural).

Methods: All general practitioners (GPs) and family nurses in the health district of Lleida (population 366 000) were asked by email to anonymously complete the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) between May and July 2014. Tool consistency was evaluated by Cronbach’s α, the association between empathy and burnout by Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and the association between burnout and empathy and sociodemographic variables by the χ² test.

Results: One hundred and thirty-six GPs and 131 nurses (52.7% response rate) from six urban and 16 rural practices participated (78.3% women); 33.3% of respondents had low empathy, while 3.7% had high burnout. The MBI and JSPE were correlated (P < .001) and low burnout was associated with high empathy (P < .05). Age and sex had no influence on burnout or empathy.

Conclusion: Although burnout was relatively uncommon in our sample, it was associated with low levels of empathy. This finding and our observation of lower empathy levels in rural settings require further investigation.

KEY MESSAGES

More empathic primary care practitioners have lower burnout scores.

Practitioners working in rural areas have significantly lower levels of empathy than their urban counterparts have.

Interventions designed to foster attributes and skills such as empathy, resilience, and doctor–patient communication may help to reduce and prevent burnout.

Undergraduate nursing students’ ability to empathize: A qualitative study

Background:

Empathy is of great importance in nursing, as it helps us to see and meet the needs of patients and hence to care for patients in an appropriate way. Therefore, it is of great importance that nursing students and nurses develop their ability to empathize.

Objective:

The study aimed at gaining knowledge on what characterizes undergraduate nursing students’ ability to empathize with patients during their first practice in a nursing home. In addition, the aim of the study was to investigate what nursing students think is important with regard to upholding their ability to empathize with patients in a professional way.

Research design:

This research has a phenomenological and hermeneutic design, based on qualitative interviews.

Participants and research context:

A total of 11 undergraduate nursing students participated in interviews during or right after their first practice in a nursing home.

Ethical considerations:

Norwegian Social Science Data Services approved the study. Participants were informed that their participation was voluntary. The participants were also assured confidentiality, and they were informed that they could withdraw from the study at any time, without providing any reasons.

Findings:

What the findings show is that affective empathy is strong among undergraduate nursing students in their first practice. They think the emotions are important to be able to empathize, and they are afraid of becoming indifferent. At the same time, they are afraid that the feelings will hinder them from acting in a professional manner.

Discussion:

The findings are discussed in light of previous theories on empathy, and especially perspectives on empathy, emotions, and morality.

Conclusion:

Affective empathy seems to be strong among nursing students, and this may be of great importance to be sensitive to patients’ well-being. However, affective and cognitive empathy should be balanced if nurses will have to meet patients in a professional way.