Patterns of burnout among U.S. radiographers. (Radiography)

Today's health care workplace puts increasing stress upon the professionals who provide patient care. Accumulated workplace stress may result in burnout, which has been shown to have a negative impact on individuals, organizations and patients. This study examined levels of radiographer burnout at 3 stages and compared those to national norms and to data on other health professionals. Results indicate that radiographers have high levels of the first stage of burnout: emotional exhaustion. With the exception of nurses who cared for certain patient populations, radiographers had similar levels of burnout as nurses and lower levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization than radiation therapists. Stress, social support and workplace were all significant predictors of the first 2 stages of burnout.
The multifaceted phenomenon of occupational burnout has been a frequent subject of researchers for the past decade. Gillespie (1) operationalizes burnout as 'a reaction to chronic, job-related stress characterized by [...]