Objectives: In the reproductive endocrinology infertility nurse (REIN) role, nurses have tremendous role responsibility including medical care, psychological support and administrative. Evidence supports that nurses are at high risk for burnout. Burnout appears to be a complex phenomenon with multiple dimensions. The objective of this study was to determine whether personality and attitudes about infertility influence the incidence of burnout in reproductive infertility nurses.Design: A mailing list from Serono’s nursing contact list was randomized and 498 nurses were contacted by mail of which 33 were undeliverable. All responses were confidential.Materials and Methods: Burnout was measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory, a 22-item written survey that has three subscales which measure Emotional Exhaustion (EE), a loss of sense of Personal Accomplishment (PA), and Depersonalization (DP). The 16 Personality Factor (16 PF) was used to assess personality style. The 16 PF is a 175-item scale that measures 16 personality factors. The Pennsylvania Reproductive Associates Infertility Survey (PRAIS) was used to measure attitudes about infertility using a 37-item, Likert scale measure. The PRAIS measures areas of Emotional Consequences (EC), Morality (M), Disclosure (D), and Personal Participation (PP). A demographic measure was also included to assess personal factors that might influence burnout.Results: The mean age of nurses (n=110) was 40.2 years and mean length of years of practice in reproductive endocrinology was 7.1 years. In all three areas measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory, scores indicated a high for burnout. There were two factors that correlated significantly with burnout. Years spent in practice in reproductive endocrinology correlated measures of burnout (p=.05). Perceived sense of emotional support also correlated significantly (ranging from p=.001 to p=.015) with all three measures of burnout. Overall, nurses described themselves with personality attributes which are characteristic of their profession: reserved, reactive, deferential, serious, rule conscious, shy, sensitive, trusting, grounded, perfectionistic, traditional and group oriented. Of these characteristics, the following were correlated with measures of burnout: reactive, shy, grounded, forthright and apprehensive. Attitudes towards infertility did not correlate with burnout.Conclusions: Burnout is an issue among reproductive endocrinology nurses and is multifactorial. Burnout may be alleviated in the infertility clinic setting by examining these factors and intervention for those nurses at higher risk. Objectives: In the reproductive endocrinology infertility nurse (REIN) role, nurses have tremendous role responsibility including medical care, psychological support and administrative. Evidence supports that nurses are at high risk for burnout. Burnout appears to be a complex phenomenon with multiple dimensions. The objective of this study was to determine whether personality and attitudes about infertility influence the incidence of burnout in reproductive infertility nurses. Design: A mailing list from Serono’s nursing contact list was randomized and 498 nurses were contacted by mail of which 33 were undeliverable. All responses were confidential. Materials and Methods: Burnout was measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory, a 22-item written survey that has three subscales which measure Emotional Exhaustion (EE), a loss of sense of Personal Accomplishment (PA), and Depersonalization (DP). The 16 Personality Factor (16 PF) was used to assess personality style. The 16 PF is a 175-item scale that measures 16 personality factors. The Pennsylvania Reproductive Associates Infertility Survey (PRAIS) was used to measure attitudes about infertility using a 37-item, Likert scale measure. The PRAIS measures areas of Emotional Consequences (EC), Morality (M), Disclosure (D), and Personal Participation (PP). A demographic measure was also included to assess personal factors that might influence burnout. Results: The mean age of nurses (n=110) was 40.2 years and mean length of years of practice in reproductive endocrinology was 7.1 years. In all three areas measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory, scores indicated a high for burnout. There were two factors that correlated significantly with burnout. Years spent in practice in reproductive endocrinology correlated measures of burnout (p=.05). Perceived sense of emotional support also correlated significantly (ranging from p=.001 to p=.015) with all three measures of burnout. Overall, nurses described themselves with personality attributes which are characteristic of their profession: reserved, reactive, deferential, serious, rule conscious, shy, sensitive, trusting, grounded, perfectionistic, traditional and group oriented. Of these characteristics, the following were correlated with measures of burnout: reactive, shy, grounded, forthright and apprehensive. Attitudes towards infertility did not correlate with burnout. Conclusions: Burnout is an issue among reproductive endocrinology nurses and is multifactorial. Burnout may be alleviated in the infertility clinic setting by examining these factors and intervention for those nurses at higher risk.
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