Swiss medical weekly
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Swiss medical weekly · Mar 2019
Teamwork and clinician burnout in Swiss intensive care: the predictive role of workload, and demographic and unit characteristics.
The levels of teamwork and clinician burnout in healthcare differ depending on demographic and unit characteristics. However, the impact of these characteristics varies between clinical settings. In addition, the impact of objectively measured workload in such settings is largely unknown. The aim of this study was to analyse the predictive role of demographic (e.g., professional experience) and unit (e.g., unit size) characteristics, and workload (e.g., nursing interventions) in explaining teamwork and clinician burnout in Swiss intensive care units (ICUs). ⋯ We identified several demographic and unit-based factors in Swiss ICUs that were associated with lower perceptions of the quality of teamwork and higher self-reported burnout. Discrepant experiences regarding the quality of teamwork based on professional role, professional status and experience might affect team effectiveness. Furthermore, this study showed the importance of workload management, as objectively measured workload was associated with higher self-reported burnout. Results suggested that certain clinician groups (e.g., working predominantly night shifts) were at higher risk for burnout, thus highlighting the importance of providing additional support to these groups. Lastly, special attention should be paid to medical and surgical ICUs, which reported the highest level of burnout. Because this is a cross-sectional study, no conclusions can be drawn regarding causal relationships.