Professional burnout syndrome among nurses and midwives depending on the place of work

Abstract

Professional burnout is a common problem occurring among employees whose job is related to other people, and additionally involves providing them with assistance. Therefore, one of such risk groups is the medical personnel, especially nurses and midwives. Scientific research shows that various factors have a different effect on the occurrence of professional burnout. The aim of the study was to review Polish and foreign scientific literature on the syndrome of professional burnout among nurses and midwives. On the basis of the literature review, it has been shown that the occurrence of professional burnout depends not only on education, seniority and salary, but also on human interactions at the workplace, level of social competence, and methods of coping with stress. It would not be possible to identify these factors if it wasn’t for the use of research tools in form of various types of questionnaires, e.g. Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). It is extremely important to undertake preventive and prophylactic activities to protect the medical personnel against this phenomenon.