Abstract
Objective
To compare physicians with workers in other fields on measures of self-valuation (SV)
and determine the effect of adjusting for SV on the relationship between being a physician
and risk for burnout.
Patients and Methods
A random sample of physicians from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile
and a probability sample from the general US population were used. Data were collected
for this cross-sectional study between October 12, 2017 and March 15, 2018. Burnout
was indicated by a score of 27 or higher on Emotional Exhaustion or 10 or higher on
Depersonalization, using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Self-valuation was measured
with Self-valuation Scale items.
Results
Physicians (248/832=29.8%) more than workers in other fields (1036/5182=20.0%) “often”
or “always” felt more self-condemnation than self-encouragement to learn from the
experience when they made a mistake. Physicians (435/832=52.3%) more than workers
in other fields (771/5182=14.9%) “often” or “always” put off taking care of their
own health due to time pressure. Physicians had greater odds of burnout before (odds
ratio [OR], 1.51; 95% CI, 1.30 to 1.76) but not after adjusting for SV responses (OR,
0.93; 95% CI, 0.78 to 1.11). After adjustment for SV, work hours, sex, and age, physicians
had lower odds of burnout than workers in other fields (OR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.68 to
0.99).
Conclusion
Self-valuation is lower in physicians compared with workers in other fields and adjusting
for SV eliminated the association between being a physician and higher risk for burnout.
Experimental design research is needed to determine whether the association of SV
with burnout is causal and the degree to which SV is malleable to intervention at
individual, organization, and professional culture levels.
Abbreviations and Acronyms:
DP (Depersonalization subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory), EE (Emotional Exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory), MBI (Maslach Burnout Inventory), OR (odds ratio), SV (self-valuation)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: June 28, 2021
Footnotes
Potential Competing Interests: The authors report no competing interests.
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
