Productivity Benchmarking and Burnout in Psychosocial Oncology: Creating a Sustainable Care Model

ABSTRACTObjectivePsychosocial oncology specialists in academic medical centers are at risk for burnout as they deliver a wide range of clinical, research, educational, and administrative services in high demand work environments. No national productivity benchmarks exist for this specialty. This study examines factors contributing to burnout among academic psychosocial oncology psychologists (PSOP), presents viable productivity standards, and a sustainable care model to mitigate burnout.MethodsPsychosocial oncology specialists recruited from the American Psychosocial Oncology Society membership were surveyed to determine frequency of burnout as measured by the Mini Z, professional fulfillment via the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index, as well as demographic, clinical practice, and systems predictors of burnout. We examine salary discrepancies by gender and race. We focus on psychologists providing services in academic medical centers.ResultsBurnout was reported by 37%–44% of psychologists and was associated with high clinical volumes, mid‐career status, and less than 10% administrative time. There were no differences in burnout by gender or race. However, females earned signi