[Burn-out in anesthesia and intensive care medicine. Part 1. Clarification and critical evaluation of the term].
Both acute critical life events and circumstances continuously perceived as strenuous may lead to psychomental and somatic symptoms. The term burn-out as an expression for chronic occupational stress has become a popular catchword over the last years. Employees in many occupations feel especially prone to burn-out due to a work environment perceived as increasingly intense and commercialized. Physicians and nurses also appear to be considerably affected by burn-out, including those working in anesthesiology and intensive care medicine. However, there is a scarcity of reliable occupation-specific data to corroborate this notion. Even though the classic concept of burn-out and the Maslach Burnout Inventory have been used for many years, a critical appraisal shows that burn-out has not yet been recognized as a diagnostic entity. Presumably there are other concepts and psychometric instruments more capable of collecting epidemiologic data regarding chronic work-related stress. With enhanced data, perhaps, measures based on principles of public health can be created and evaluated for the prevention and treatment of this condition.
Michalsen
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Abteilung Intensivmedizin, Neurologische Klinik, Medical Park Loipl, Thanngasse 15, Bischofswiesen, Germany. A.Michalsen@medicalpark.de
Hillert
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D000328:Adult; D000776:Anesthesiology; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003422:Critical Care; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008297:Male; D005222:Mental Fatigue / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009726:Nurses; D010820:Physicians; D011594:Psychometrics; D012201:Reward; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D000078329:Workforce