Burnout of Physicians, Pharmacists and Nurses in the Course of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Serbian Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study.

Biljana Jakovljevic,Katarina Stojanovic,Vladimir Lj Jakovljevic,Tamara Nikolic Turnic

doi:10.3390/ijerph18168728

Abstract

This research was a prospective, cross-sectional observational study of 128 health workers in the central part of the Republic of Serbia. The study surveyed health workers (physicians, pharmacists and nurses) who worked during peaks of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Serbia in June and November 2020. The Maslach Burnout Survey for Medical Personnel addresses three scales: (a) emotional exhaustion (EE) measures feelings of being emotionally overextended and exhausted by one’s work; (b) depersonalization (DP) measures an unfeeling and impersonal response toward recipients of one’s service, care treatment, or instruction; and (c) personal accomplishment (PA) measures feelings of competence and successful achievement in one’s work. Linear regression and the chi-square test were used to test a relationship between the input variables (x) and the single output variable (y). We can conclude that most health workers had a high degree of emotional exhaustion, but also a low degree of depersonalization and a high degree of sense of personal achievement. Nurses and physicians had similar answers on the pandemic during their work, but pharmacists had different answers.

Highlights

Burnout syndrome is defined as the result of chronic stress in the workplace that has not been successfully resolved
If we look only at health care workers and literature data, the prevalence of burnout syndrome is highest among young employees, including physicians who perform risky procedures and nurse-technicians whose duties vary significantly, even on a daily basis, depending on the health care units in which they can be deployed [4,5]
The main purpose of this research was to examine the frequency of burnout syndrome in different health workers such as physicians, pharmacists and nurses employed in the central territory of the Republic of Serbia during the coronavirus pandemic

Summary

Introduction

Burnout syndrome is defined as the result of chronic stress in the workplace that has not been successfully resolved. It is characterized by three dimensions: a feeling of exhaustion or loss of energy; increased mental distance from the work done or feelings of negativity or cynicism about one’s work; and a sense of inefficiency and lack of achievement [1]. Burnout among physicians has garnered significant attention because of the negative impact it renders on patient care and medical personnel. Stress management programs that range from relaxation to cognitive-behavioral and patient-centered therapy have been found to be of utmost significance when it comes to preventing and treating burnout [6]. A recent study of practicing pharmacists found that more that 68%

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