Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

IntroductionStudies on physician burnout in Spain show a significant presence of the syndrome among our professionals. Some studies highlight the speciality of medical oncology as one of the most affected. The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence of burnout syndrome among the group of medical oncologists affiliated to the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), as well as to assess the weight of sociodemographic variables, background and consequences involved in the process.Materials and methodsAn anonymous protocol was posted to medical oncologist members of the SEOM (n=795). This protocol comprised a scale of sociodemographic variables and three scales of the Medical Professional Burnout Questionnaire. In response we received 200 complete protocols and statistical analyses were conducted with the programme SPSS, version 14.0.ResultsThe sample showed high burnout levels in the areas of exhaustion and loss of expectations, with perception of time pressure to conduct work and social deterioration perceived in the profession as the two background elements with the greatest weight to explain the syndrome. The health consequences (physical and emotional) for the phy - sician are clear. Initial results show that conducting research and lecturing tasks could be a protective factor against developing the syndrome.ConclusionsThe results suggest the importance of developing prevention and intervention lines for medical oncology burnout. In this sense, issues such as work time management and motivational aspects related to research tasks could be worth considering.

Original publication

DOI

10.1007/s12094-009-0319-9

Type

Journal article

Journal

Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico

Publication Date

02/2009

Volume

11

Pages

86 - 90

Addresses

Valencia General University Hospital, Valencia, Spain. camps_car@gva.es

Keywords

Humans, Attitude of Health Personnel, Stress, Psychological, Job Satisfaction, Burnout, Professional, Medical Oncology, Adult, Middle Aged, Health Personnel, Workload, Spain, Female, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires