Job Satisfaction and Burnout among Intensive Care Unit Nurses and Physicians

Abstract

Introduction. Nurses and physicians working in the intensive care unit (ICU) may be exposed to considerable job stress. The study aim was to assess the level of and the relationship between (1) job satisfaction, (2) job stress, and (3) burnout symptoms. Methods. A cross-sectional study was performed at ICUs at Oslo University Hospital. 145 of 196 (74%) staff members (16 physicians and 129 nurses) answered the questionnaire. The following tools were used: job satisfaction scale (scores 10–70), modified Cooper's job stress questionnaire (scores 1–5), and Maslach burnout inventory (scores 1–5); high score in the dimension emotional exhaustion (EE) indicates burnout. Personality was measured with the basic character inventory. Dimensions were neuroticism (vulnerability), extroversion (intensity), and control/compulsiveness with the range 0–9. Results. Mean job satisfaction among nurses was 43.9 (42.4–45.4) versus 51.1 (45.3–56.9) among physicians, P < 0.05. The mean burnout value (EE) was 2.3 (95% CI 2.2–2.4), and mean job stress was 2.6 (2.5–2.7), not significantly different between nurses and physicians. Females scored higher than males on vulnerability, 3.3 (2.9–3.7) versus 2.0 (1.1–2.9) (P < 0.05), and experienced staff were less vulnerable, 2.7 (2.2–3.2), than inexperienced staff, 3.6 (3.0–4.2) (P < 0.05). Burnout (EE) correlated with job satisfaction (r = −0.4, P < 0.001), job stress (r = 0.6, P < 0.001), and vulnerability (r = 0.3, P = 0.003). Conclusions. The nurses were significantly less satisfied with their jobs compared to the physicians. Burnout mean scores are relatively low, but high burnout scores are correlated with vulnerable personality, low job satisfaction, and high degree of job stress.

Burnout among nurses working in critical care settings: a case of a selected tertiary hospital in Rwanda

“…This is similar to the findings of a study where no difference was found between gender in relation to burnout. 16 However, other various studies found age, gender, level of education, marital status to be associated with burnout. 3,17,18 Conversely, in this study high level of burnout was found among married participants but there was no significant association between marital status and burnout (P >0.05).…”

“…3 The reason is that the experienced in the career are stable, become skilled and competent and become more familiar with the profession and they know how to deal with stressors faced at work. 16 …”

Selection of an instrument to evaluate the organizational environment of nurses working in intensive care: an integrative review

“…Perceived depersonalization had a moderate inverse association with reduced job satisfaction in a study of 129 ICU nurses (r = -0.313; p < .001) [43] .…”

“…Highest scores reflected multicenter studies with a large sample size, clearly defined outcome measures, demonstrated survey instrument validation, high survey response rate, identified complex associations within the results and demonstrated relevance to health services management [41,42] . Conversely, the lowest scoring study was conducted in a single site with a small convenience sample, and implications for practice were not clearly articulated limiting broader generalization of results [43] .…”

“…The perception of being depersonalized from the work environment was identified as a strong predictor of emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction in three acute care studies [42,47,56] and two in ICU [43,52] . Perceived depersonalization had a moderate inverse association with reduced job satisfaction in a study of 129 ICU nurses (r = -0.313; p < .001) [43] .…”