The relationship between psychological resilience and burnout in Irish doctors

Background There has been a considerable amount of research focused upon assessing doctor burnout. However, psychological resilience (PR) has been examined far less frequently. Aims To examine the relationship between PR and burnout in Irish doctors in order to identify how PR can be improved-with a particular focus on how doctors can be empowered to strengthen their PR. Method The ResMed PR survey and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) were distributed to doctors from an Irish teaching hospital. Results A total of 322 completed online and paper surveys were received. Response rate for the paper surveys was 42.0% (168/400). Depersonalisation and personal accomplishment were significant predicators of job gratification (taking satisfaction from the job of a physician). Emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment were significant predicators of protective attitudes (attitudes that promote or sustain PR; e.g. not taking things personally). Being a man was more positively related to protective attitudes than being a woman. Emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment were significant predicators of protective practices (approaches to building/maintaining resilience; e.g. good time management). Conclusions The research reported in this paper provides insights in to how healthcare leaders could empower frontline doctors to change how they work in order to allow them to improve their psychological resilience and help them to thrive, rather than just survive.