Departments of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
Departments of Immunology, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
PLoS One. 2024 Apr 9;19(4):e0301636. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301636. eCollection 2024.
Burnout is a work-related syndrome that can affect physicians' performance. Empathy is one of the clinical competencies in whose formation many factors play a role. Empathy and burnout are important topics of research in medical sciences, and both are related to the communication between the patient and the physician. This study investigated the relationship between occupational burnout and empathy among medical residents.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 297 medical residents in Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences from January to March 2021. The data collection tools were the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The reliability of the instruments was measured by calculating Cronbach's alpha. Data were analyzed by SPSS-18, using the Pearson correlation test and linear regression models.
The average age of the study population was 33.06 ±4.7 years, with more than half being females (57.6%) and married (51.9%). The residents' mean scores of empathy and overall burnout were 102.87 out of 140 and 55.90 out of 132, respectively. The burnout scores showed an inverse correlation with the overall empathy scores (r = -0.123, P = 0.035), and the score of standing in the patient's shoes (r = -0.165, P = 0.004). Linear regression test was used to detect which dimension of empathy was a better predictor for the reduction of burnout scores. Results showed that the best predictor was standing in the patient's shoes (P = 0.014).
The findings showed a negative association between empathy and burnout among medical residents, which suggests the need for adjustment of the existing burnout management at the institutional level. Therefore, residents should be supported by managers to reduce burnout and improve their empathic behavior.
burnout 是一种与工作相关的综合征，会影响医生的表现。同理心是临床能力之一，其形成涉及许多因素。同理心和 burnout 是医学科学研究的重要课题，两者都与医患沟通有关。本研究调查了住院医师职业倦怠与同理心之间的关系。
本横断面研究于 2021 年 1 月至 3 月在阿瓦兹 Jundishapur 医科大学对 297 名住院医师进行。数据收集工具是杰斐逊同理心量表（JSE）和 Maslach 倦怠量表（MBI）。通过计算 Cronbach's alpha 来衡量仪器的可靠性。使用 SPSS-18 进行数据分析，采用 Pearson 相关检验和线性回归模型。
研究人群的平均年龄为 33.06 ± 4.7 岁，其中超过一半是女性（57.6%）和已婚（51.9%）。居民的同理心和整体倦怠平均得分为 140 分中的 102.87 分和 132 分中的 55.90 分。倦怠得分与整体同理心得分呈负相关（r = -0.123，P = 0.035），与站在病人的角度（r = -0.165，P = 0.004）得分呈负相关。线性回归检验用于检测同理心的哪个维度是降低倦怠得分的更好预测指标。结果表明，最佳预测指标是站在病人的角度（P = 0.014）。
研究结果表明，住院医师的同理心与倦怠之间存在负相关，这表明需要在机构层面调整现有的倦怠管理。因此，管理者应支持住院医师减轻倦怠，提高同理心行为。
