Peculiarities of formation and signs of emotional burnout syndrome in medical university teachers

Abstract

Peculiarities of development and signs of emotional burnout syndrome among teaching staff of theoretical departments at Higher State Educational Establishment of Ukraine “Bukovinian State Medical University” have been examined. To diagnose the degree of emotional burnout adapted V.V. Boyko’s method was applied according to which not only signs of emotional burnout, degree of formation and stages of development of emotional burnout syndrome can be detected, but availability of psychosomatic and psycho-vegetative disorders as well. Formation of emotional burnout syndrome among educators is considered to have three stages: exertion, resistance and exhaustion. Exertion stage is predominantly characterized by excessive worries caused by psychological traumatic experience, anxiety and depression. Resistance stage is manifested by emotional thriftiness and emotional-moral disorientation. Exhaustion stage is characterized by emotional deficiency, psychosomatic and psycho-vegetative disorders. Two teachers in the study were found to develop two stages of emotional burnout – exertion and resistance. Their main symptoms are sensations of being cornered which is indicative of the development of intellectual-emotional block condition, desire to finish working day quickly, feelings of anxiety and depression with simultaneous formation of professional duty reduction symptom. Resistance stage was found in six teachers with its dominating signs like reduction of professional duties, low interest to work and deterioration of professional activity. Resistance and exhaustion stages were found in four teachers. Their most pronounced symptoms were wider emotional thriftiness, which is indicative of a limited communication with the audience, decreased interest in work and emotional deficiency, when people lose their professional abilities changing positive emotions into negative ones, become rude in communication. Four teachers, women mostly, were found to develop all the three stages of emotional burnout syndrome. Their dominating signs were worries concerning psychological traumatic circumstances characterized by intensified irritation and lack of confidence to people, accumulated dissatisfaction of the situation. At the same time, the most pronounced sign was wide emotional thriftiness which is indicative of lack of desire to communicate with the audience and decreased interest in work. It was proved that the signs of emotional burnout syndrome were not found among teachers depending on an educational subject, although emotional burnout develops more frequently while working with English-speaking students.