Healthcare professionals are frequently confronted with urgent situations and a high-risk human intervention. They are usually exposed to what is called burnout syndrome.
Aim: To identify the effects of burnout syndrome on the professional conduct and attitudes of doctors and nurses who work in the Romanian public ambulance service. Secondary, the causal relationships between burnout and various socio-demographic variables were analyzed.
Material and methods: The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS- 20), Maslach Burnout Inventory and Job Satisfaction Questionnaire were administered to 122 ambulance doctors, nurses and drivers (62 females and 60 males).
Results: The degree of job satisfaction is the most important indicator of burnout syndrome. Significant differences were found between low and high alexithymic subjects. Women are more susceptible to experience higher levels of burnout than men. The level of burnout is influenced by the combined effect of job satisfaction and alexithymia.
Conclusions: Burnout syndrome is a common problem among people working in the emergency medical system. The causes of job-related burnout have to be identified in order to apply an appropriate level of burnout intervention program and to increase the efficiency of coping strategies.