Burnout in the sonographic environment: The identification and exploration of the causes of sonographer burnout and strategies for prevention and control

Abstract

Ultrasound is a diagnostic tool with many advantages, however, concerns over operator wellbeing have arisen in the last 20 years. Many sonographers experience burnout, which has the potential to cause financial loss for radiology clinics, and for sonographers, suboptimal examinations, high turnover and a reduced ability to communicate with patients. The aim of this narrative review was to explore, identify and categorise the causes of burnout in the sonography profession, and to identify burnout prevention and control strategies. A literature search was conducted through Central Queensland University library, accessing the following electronic databases; Wiley Online Library, Gale Academic, Ovid, Sagepub, CINAHL, Elsevier Science Direct, PubMed and ProQuest. Eight articles were reviewed. This study identified two key themes contributing to sonographer burnout: delivering adverse news and increased workload. Twelve causes of burnout were identified, with exposure to adverse news and time constraints the most commonly identified causes. In addition, other causes identified included managerial pressures to perform more scans/tasks within a short-time frame, followed by the constant exposure to adverse news and the burden of delivering it to patients. Recommendations include considering reducing the required number of scans per week by increasing appointment times, counselling and skills training for adverse news delivery and use of technical assistants to perform soft tasks. Current literature relating to sonographer burnout appears isolated to the obstetrics domain with further study required on sonographer burnout in other fields of sonography, including burnout because of lack of career progression.