Journal of Healthcare Management - March/April 2015 - (Page 133)

Burnout Among Primary Care Physicians: A Test of the Areas of Worklife Model Sean T. Gregory, PhD, assistant professor, Health Policy & Management, School of Public Health, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center, College Station, Texas, and Terri Menser, research associate, Health Policy & Management, School of Public Health, Texas A&M Health Science Center E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y Examinations of the current state of the physician workforce, in the United States and globally, indicate a declining overall well-being, and specifically increasing levels of burnout. The consequences of these effects include early retirements or exits from the medical profession, difficulties improving the patient experience, and low levels of provider engagement with clinic-level and system-level initiatives. Such consequences affect physicians, healthcare organizations, and patients. While most research has focused on identifying burnout, cataloging its effects, and creating a case for attending to its impact, relatively few studies have focused on exploring the antecedents of burnout for physicians. The goal of this study was to test an etiological model, the Areas of Worklife Scale (AWS), for practicing primary care physicians. Using the AWS and the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the study used a longitudinal survey research design method to query primary care physicians employed at a large integrated delivery system in the United States. Data collected successfully fit the AWS model for burnout among primary care physicians, supporting our theory that workplace drivers are responsible for burnout. Workload, control, and values congruence are the largest drivers of burnout for practicing primary care physicians. The AWS model provides key insights into the domains of work that cause stress and ultimately burnout for physicians, and these domains can guide physicians and managers to develop interventions to fight the rising incidence of burnout. For more information about the concepts in this article, contact Dr. Gregory at gregory@tamhsu.edu. 133

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of Healthcare Management - March/April 2015

Interview With Joel T. Allison, FACHE, CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health
The Scale Imperative for Academic Medical Centers: Part 2—Case Study
The Mayo Model of Community Care: Integrating Population Health and Patient Experience Initiatives for Efficient Reform
Organizational Characteristics Associated With Fundraising Performance of Nonprofit Hospitals
Physical Work Environment as a Managerial Tool for Decreasing Job-Related Anxiety and Improving Employee-Employer Relations
Burnout Among Primary Care Physicians: A Test of the Areas of Worklife Model

Journal of Healthcare Management - March/April 2015