Burnout syndrome in Psychiatrists from Pinar del Río Province

Abstract

Introduction: Complaints frequently expressed by professionals from different specialties and related to the tensions produced by work may provoke behaviors consistent with emotional exhaustion, loss of interest in work and indifferent attitudes towards the people they attend. This has been called burnout syndrome. The appreciable frequency in which these manifestations are expressed by colleagues motivated this research.

Objective: To identify the presence of burnout syndrome in a group of psychiatrists in Pinar del Río Province.

Methods: A cross-sectional research was carried out through the application of the Maslach Burnout Inventory to 35 psychiatrists from Pinar del Río Province. The percentage method of calculation was used.

Results: Twelve professionals (34.2%) were identified as diagnosed with burnout syndrome or at risk of it, together with a low incidence of cases in the first ten years after graduating as a medical doctor; but not among psychiatrists, in which it was diagnosed mostly in the first years of practicing the specialty. The stable mental relationship presupposes a greater risk for suffering from the syndrome or for being at risk.

Conclusions: Burnout syndrome or the risk of suffering from was diagnosed in just over one third of psychiatrists. The relative high frequency of the syndrome in those with a stable partner could be attributed to other factors together with those related to work and not to this alone.