Work stress and burnout among physicians and nurses in Internal and Emergency Departments

Abstract

Burnout has been defined as loss of enthusiasm for work, feelings of cynicism, and a low sense of personal accomplishment. Work environment and working conditions exposes the individual to numerous factors of stress. Stress-related diseases are defined as burnout. The increased workload, the repeated reorganizations in the hospital with iterative downsizing suggestions and budget cuts, without any perspective of career progression, with a social culture of bureaucracy and blame, resulting both in subtracting direct care time with patients and in the fear by healthcare professionals from the burden of their responsibility, are the backgrounds on which more and more frequent cases of burnout may develop. We need to establish homogenous standards all over the national territory on workload and about the procedures that have to be implemented for the prevention of burnout in our wards.