Background: Although burnout is often discussed as ‘present’ or ‘not-present’, the conceptual framework of an engagement-burnout continuum is more accurate and useful. Recognition of individuals’ transitional states of burnout also allows for earlier detection of issues and tailored interventions to address the full burnout spectrum.
Methods: Previously reported Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Scale (MBI-HSS) data from a 2017 national survey of 1272 veterinarians across Canada were re-analysed using a latent profile analysis to classify individuals along the engagement-burnout continuum.
Results: Four clusters were identified: engaged (10.8 per cent), ineffective (18.9 per cent), overextended (29.6 per cent) and burnout (40.7 per cent). These results indicate that most participants (89.2 per cent) had one, or a combination, of high exhaustion, high depersonalisation and low professional efficacy.
Limitations: This cross-sectional study represents data from one point in time and may be subject to response bias.
Conclusion: We discuss strategies-particularly long-term, organisational-level interventions-to promote engagement and help address workplace issues contributing to inefficacy, overextension and burnout in the veterinary profession. We also recommend MBI data be analysed via latent profiles to provide a more nuanced view of burnout, allow for earlier recognition of workplace issues and facilitate more meaningful interventions and comparisons across populations.
Andria Jones-Bitton 1, Daniel Gillis 2, Makenzie Peterson 3, Hayley McKee 4
Vet Rec. 2023 Jan;192(2): e2281.doi: 10.1002/vetr.2281.
1Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
2School of Computer Science, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
3American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
4Department of Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.