Measurement of hypothetical burnout in cystic fibrosis caregivers.

Three hypothetical phases of staff burnout were measured in a population of cystic fibrosis caregivers and a control population from other areas of specialty pediatrics. The cystic fibrosis caregivers displayed a higher level of emotional exhaustion, lower level of patient depersonalization, and an equal sense of personal accomplishment from the job compared to the controls. We conclude that hypothetical staff burnout can be measured and postulate that these values can be used to quantitate the outcome of anti-burnout programs.