Anesthesiologists-Resuscitators’ Mental States In Extreme Activity Conditions

Abstract

Anesthesiologists-resuscitators, performing their professional duties in stressful, and often extreme activity conditions (with a risk to life and health), can be classified as a risk group for various negative mental states. Anesthesiologists-resuscitators’ professional activity makes significant demands on their personality. The purpose is to identify and describe the characteristics of anesthesiologists-resuscitators mental states in extreme activity conditions. Methods. 49 anesthesiologists-resuscitators of the Arkhangelsk region (Russia) were examined. Methods were used: questionnaires, psychological testing -the organizational stress scale, the dominant status measurement, the multilevel personal questionnaire "Adaptability", the questionnaire "Attitude to work and professional burn-out", the Lüscher colour test, the Russian form of the state-trait-anxiety inventory and the statistical processing of the empirical results. It was found that in the performing professional duties course, more than 79.6 % of anesthesiologists-resuscitators often face stressful situations; every third person is exposed to a threat to life or the injury risk, injury in the work process. More than half of the respondents have a high organizational stress level, 67.3 % have a professional burnout syndrome, 35.3 % are characterized by fatigue, concentration lack, lethargy, inertia, low performance, and 1 / 3 have a high situational anxiety indicator. Every second anesthesiologist-resuscitator has an adaptiveabilities reduced level, 14.2 % – expressed asthenic, and 24.4 % – psychotic reactions and conditions. Recommendations for the negative mental states prevention in anesthesiologists-resuscitators were made in several areas: professional & organizational, social, individual psychological.