Back to Search
Start Over
Burnout among psychiatrists in the Veterans Health Administration
- Source :
- Burnout Research, Vol 2, Iss 4, Pp 108-114 (2015)
- Publication Year :
- 2015
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2015.
-
Abstract
- Research suggests that mental health workers are at high risk for burnout, and that burnout can increase staff turnover and reduce quality of care. The Veterans Administration (VA) employs over 3000 psychiatrists across the United States, but little is known about burnout in this population. This study was conducted to examine predictors of burnout and intent to leave the VA among a national sample of VA psychiatrists. Participants ( N = 125) responded to an anonymous online survey. Regression analyses were used to examine relationships between workplace variables, patient characteristics, and burnout as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey – which includes sub-scales for cynicism, exhaustion, and professional efficacy – as well as intent to leave the VA. Based on established cut-off scores, 90% of the sample reported high cynicism, 86% reported high exhaustion, and 74% reported high professional efficacy. High cynicism predicted the intent to leave the VA ( p = .004). Not feeling part of a coherent team predicted greater cynicism ( p = .01), and patient characteristics such as suspected malingering showed a positive trend with cynicism ( p = .05). Workplace characteristics such as unfair treatment by supervisors ( p = .03) and insufficient resources ( p = .001) predicted greater exhaustion. The current findings suggest that burnout is prevalent in the VA psychiatry workforce. Specific administrative measures to reduce burnout may have potential to improve the emotional health of that workforce and ensure high quality of care for the veteran population it serves. The size of both the VA psychiatry workforce and patient population underscores the importance of greater understanding of burnout as it occurs in the VA.
- Subjects :
- medicine.medical_specialty
Psychiatrist
lcsh:RC435-571
Population
education
lcsh:BF1-990
Burnout
Cynicism
Malingering
lcsh:Psychiatry
medicine
Veterans Affairs
Psychiatry
Workplace
education.field_of_study
business.industry
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
medicine.disease
Mental health
Psychiatry and Mental health
lcsh:Psychology
Retention
Turnover
Workforce
business
psychological phenomena and processes
Clinical psychology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 22130586
- Volume :
- 2
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Burnout Research
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....53cc9ebdb9bcd70bb9b7d99ea6094581
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burn.2015.10.001