Burnout in nurses and physicians working at an oncology department

AbstractPurpose: Burnout is associated with decreased job performance and commitment, predicts stress‐related health problems, and low career satisfaction. The specific objectives in our study were to assess the levels of burnout and to investigate the interrelationships between demographic characteristics and burnout health‐care professionals working with cancer patients in Turkey.Methods: A questionnaire‐based study was conducted in 77 physicians and 56 nurses working in an oncology clinic at the university hospital. We used quantitative survey to assess burnout levels in participants as well as sociodemographic variables. Data were collected using a Turkish version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI).Results: Nurses had significantly higher scores of emotional exhaustion (EE) when compared with the physicians, but no significant difference was found between two groups regarding other burnout components. Significant correlations were found in three different components of the MBI, as well as between each component, age and work experience in nurses and physicians. There were statistical significant differences for each of MBI subscales according to age groups in physicians. EE