Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study explored the prevalence of burnout syndrome among advanced practice providers (APPs = physician assistants (PAs) and advanced practice nurses (APNs)) and physician assistant students in training to become APPs. While previous research has focused on understanding burnout in a myriad of health professions, burnout among APPs and APP trainees has been underexplored. As such, this work serves as a primer for establishing benchmark levels of burnout in these specific healthcare provider/trainee populations. METHODS: This study distributed a modified Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to a sample of 297 APPs and 1200 PA students. Mean differences in burnout scores were compared against a national reference sample of healthcare professionals using one sample t tests and linear regression explored relationships among demographics and burnout dimension scores. RESULTS: APPs (n = 124) and APP trainees (n = 230) who responded to the survey displayed average levels of burnout, though both populations expressed significantly lower personal accomplishment scores than the national reference sample. No significant differences were detected between APNs and practicing PAs (p = 0.761). Increased age was negatively associated with depersonalization scores suggesting that APP trainees and younger APPs are at higher risk of developing severe burnout and may need additional support in their training and early careers. Furthermore, the prevalence of burnout between APPs and APP trainees was found to be comparable, suggesting that burnout from training may persist into practice. CONCLUSIONS: A small proportion of APPs and APP trainees may be at risk of developing severe burnout. Individuals in these "at risk" populations may need additional support during training and perhaps later on in practice.