A survey of US neurointerventional non-physician procedural staff demonstrates a self-reported burnout prevalence of 51%. According to Patrick Brown of Wake Forest Baptist University (Winston-Salem, USA), who presented the data at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s (SNIS) 17th Annual Meeting (4–7 August; virtual meeting), this figure was driven more by interaction with leadership and physician staff than by thrombectomy procedural volume and stroke call. He also highlighted that attrition among neurointerventionalist non-physician procedural staff is high.
Given the “heavy toll” that burnout takes on healthcare providers, Brown told the SNIS audience that the team sought to assess the prevalence and risk factors for burnout among neurointerventional non-physician procedural staff, such as nurses and technologists.
Research investigating burnout within this cohort is important, he conveyed, due to the increasing demand of thrombectomy.
The team sent out a 41-question online survey containing questions including the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel. According to Brown, it was distributed to neurointerventional nurses as well as radiology technologists at 20 endovascular capable stroke centres around the USA.
Discussing the results, Brown said that the team received 244 responses; a response rate of 64%. Median (inter-quartile) composite scores for emotional exhaustion were 25 (15–35), depersonalisation (2–11) and personal accomplishment 39 (35–43).
In total, 51% of respondents met the established criteria for burnout. However, Brown explained that there was no significant relationship between hospital thrombectomy volume, call frequency, call cases covered, or length of commute.
Regarding the multiple logistic regression analysis, feeling under appreciated by hospital leadership and working with difficult or unpleasant physicians were “strongly associated” with burnout. Moreover, at participating centres, nurse and technologist attrition was 25% over the last year, while—according to Brown—the analysis also indicated that over 50% of respondents had strongly considered leaving their position over the last two years.
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