Emotional burnout syndrome among dentists

Abstract

Aim. To study the emotional burnout syndrome among dentists in relation to age, gender, work experience and specialization. Methods. Examined were 200 dentists enrolled for training at the Department of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery of the Institute of Postgraduate Education of Bashkir State Medical University in 2010/2011 academic year. The test of V.V. Boiko «Methods of diagnosing the level of emotional burnout» was used. Results. Symptoms of emotional burnout were found in 53.8% of respondents. The magnitude of the phases of emotional burnout was independent of age, gender, length of service as a dentist (p 0.05). When accounting for occupational specialization differences were found in the entry «driven into a cage» (p=0.019). This symptom was most pronounced in dental therapists, followed by dental surgeons. Among dentists-orthopedists the symptom of «emotional detachment» was predominant (p=0.027). Conclusion. Emotional burnout syndrome develops in the course of professional activities of a dentist, professional specialization of the dentist affects the development of this syndrome.