• Clement K Gwede, Darlene J Johnsson, Cleora Roberts, and Alan B Cantor.
• Department of Interdisciplinary Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA. gwede@moffitt.usf.edu
• Oncol Nurs Forum. 2005 Nov 1;32(6):1123-30.

Purpose/ObjectivesTo assess burnout among clinical research coordinators (CRCs) and to determine which personal and job-related factors are associated with burnout.DesignRandom, stratified, cross-sectional mail survey.SettingCRCs from membership lists of clinical research organizations.Sample252 CRCs in the United States. To be included in the study, participants must have been in their current position longer than six months and involved in clinical trial coordination or data management. Of 2,770 records, 900 CRCs were mailed questionnaires; 35% (316) responded, and 252 of those were eligible for analysis. Eligible respondents were Caucasian (86%), female (94%), and employed full-time (92%) in an oncology setting (71%).MethodsRespondents completed mailed self-administered questionnaires measuring burnout, job satisfaction, personality characteristics, perceived work overload, and selected personal- and employment-related data. Data analyses included descriptive, univariate, and multivariate statistics.Main Research VariableBurnout.FindingsAbout 70% of respondents were satisfied with their job, and 74% would still choose the clinical research profession. Approximately 44% reported high emotional exhaustion, a component of burnout. Factors independently associated with high emotional exhaustion burnout were low satisfaction with job (p 0.0001), high perceived daily workload (p 0.0001), and low endurance personality (p = 0.002).ConclusionsBurnout is prevalent in CRCs. Job dissatisfaction, perceived daily work overload, low endurance, and nurturance personality traits were associated with high burnout.Implications For NursingNurses are involved significantly in clinical trial coordination. High burnout rates have potentially negative implications for data quality and productivity in clinical trial data management-important values for nursing and the clinical research profession.

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