Self-compassion as a Stress Moderator: A Cross-sectional Study of 1700 Doctors, Nurses, and Medical Students

Abstract

Objectives Work stress is common in healthcare and reliably predicts negative outcomes, including burnout and lower quality of life (QOL). However, few studies have investigated factors that might attenuate the impact of stress on these negative outcomes. We investigated whether the tendency to be kind to the self during times of difficulty-self-compassion-might buffer the effect of work stress on outcomes. Methods Registered nurses (n = 801), physicians (n = 516), and medical students (n = 383) were recruited using convenience sampling in New Zealand. Following consent, participants (N = 1700) completed a survey including the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form. Results Across groups, greater work stress consistently predicted greater burnout and lower QOL, while greater self-compassion predicted lower burnout and better QOL. Self-compassion moderated the relationship between stress and burnout in nurses (albeit in the opposite direction to what had been predicted), but not in doctors or medical students. Conclusions While self-compassion predicted better outcomes (and may thus represent a target to enhance wellbeing), it strengthened the association between stress and burnout in nurses. How self-compassion impacts the experience of stress and its correlates and why it does so differently in different groups of professionals remains unclear.

Self-Compassion and Resilience at Work: A Practice-Oriented Review

“…Eby and colleagues’ (2019) review showed that individuals who most benefited from mindfulness training and its related outcomes, like self-compassion, were those who experienced higher levels of stress. Additionally, they reported that mindfulness trainings were beneficial for individuals who were employed in jobs that have high demands, such as the military and police, practicing psychologists (Eriksson et al, 2018), healthcare workers (Dev et al, 2020; Vaillancourt & Wasylkiw, 2019), and women managers from the cosmetics sector (Pires et al, 2018).…”

Perceived stress, self-compassion and job burnout in nurses: the moderating role of self-compassion

“…In Iran, more than 75% of nurses suffer from stress, depression and other mental problems that have a detrimental effect on their own and their patients' lives (Aghilinejad et al, 2010). The relationship between stress and burnout in nurses has been investigated in several studies (Dev et al, 2020;Kim, 2020;Montanari et al, 2019;Pe´rula-de Torres et al, 2019;Wang et al, 2020). However, limited studies have shown a relationship between perceived stress and job burnout in nurses (Divinakumar et al, 2014;Mahon et al, 2017;Munnangi et al, 2018), and the relationship between perceived stress and burnout has not been studied among Iranian nurses.…”

Self-care of Caregivers: Self-Compassion in a Population of Dutch Medical Students and Residents

“…The high burnout rates among future doctors are often related to contextual factors inherent to their professional environment (Dev, Fernando and Consedine, 2020). Dutch medical training is characterized by a high work intensity due to heavy patient loads and long, irregular working days (Van Esch and Soomers, 2018).…”

“…Few studies, however, investigated these associations between self-compassion, well-being and performance in the setting of medical education. Dev, Fernando and Consedine (2020) recently found that greater self-compassion predicted lower burnout and better quality of life in a sample of 383 medical students, with female students reporting lower levels of self-compassion. In a smaller sample of paediatric residents, self-compassion was positively associated with resilience (Olson, Kemper and Mahan, 2015).…”