OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine whether educational stressors and relational stressors are associated with burnout in medical students and to test social support as a moderator between stressors and burnout. METHODS: A total of 263 medical students attending Gyeongsang National University composed the study sample. A standardized questionnaire was used to investigate educational and relational stressors, three dimensions of burnout, and social support of medical students. RESULTS: The findings showed that overall burnout is very high among Korean medical students, with 9.9% totally burned out. Educational and relational stressors were significantly associated with the risk of burnout in medical students after controlling for socio-demographics and health behaviors. Social support moderated educational and relational stressors on personal accomplishment, but did not moderate stressors on emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. CONCLUSION: Burnout level is substantially high among Korean medical students. Educational and relational stressors are significantly associated with burnout risk in Korean medical students. Social support had moderated educational and relational stressors on personal accomplishment. The results suggest that more social support for medical students is needed to buffer stressors on and burnout.
Burns ; Depersonalization ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Students, Medical*

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to understand the general hospital nurses' work stress, burn out and turnover intention and to identify the factors that influence on turnover intention. METHODS: This study was conducted through a survey of 283 nurses having at least 6 months of work experience of 4 general hospitals in Seoul. Data were collected from September to October 2009. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and stepwise multiple regression test with SPSS WIN 14.0. RESULTS: The score for turnover intention was 3.57 out of 5. Turnover intention was significantly correlated with work stress, burn out, and working position. The factors influencing turnover intention were organizational system, depersonalization, physical environment, work position, and occupational climate. The predict variables accounted for 27.9% of turnover intention. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that factors influencing turnover intention are organizational system, depersonalization, physical environment, work position, and organizational climate. Therefore, nursing managers should understand the organization's climate and establish a reasonable organization system to decrease turnover intention.
Burns ; Climate ; Depersonalization ; Hospitals, General ; Intention ; Personnel Turnover

This study aimed to examine factors and the correlations of burnout and job satisfaction in hospital dietitians. Burnout was classified into three sub-concepts: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Job satisfaction was also classified into three sub-concepts, including relationships, self-realization, and advancement opportunities. A survey was conducted with dietitians working in general hospitals of over 400 beds, in the Seoul metropolitan area. The factors that significantly influenced emotional exhaustion were health, work hours, number of intern dietitians, self-esteem, level of responsibility, while the factors that influenced depersonalization were relationships with coworkers, and role ambiguity. Personal accomplishment was influenced by age, the number of staff dietitians, the general number of managed workers, and self-esteem. In terms of job satisfaction, relationship was affected by age and relationships with supervisors, while self-realization was influenced by work hours, health, the number of patient meals, and role ambiguity. Age, job regularity, business management, role ambiguity, and relationships with supervisors also affected advancement opportunities. Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishments, which represented burnout, had negative relationships with satisfaction with relationships, self-realization and advancement opportunities. Dietitians with low job satisfaction were likely to experience burnout. These results suggest that burnout and job satisfaction are influenced by internal and external factors that are individual or organizational problems encountered by hospital dietitians. Therefore, managers as well as dietitians need to understand these factors and overcome them through communication and mutual support.
Commerce ; Depersonalization ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Job Satisfaction ; Meals

This research aims to examine the experiences of hospital dietitians' burnout and the factors of their burnout, such as demographic factors, unique characteristics of hospitals, their self-respect, and organizational factors. In order for this, a questionnaire survey was conducted with hospital dietitians working in general hospitals of over 400 beds in the Seoul Metropolitan area. The average point of self-respect of dietitians is 3.67 out of 5.00. Their experience of burnout turned out to be 3.17 out of 7, the extent of job satisfaction is high, that is 3.35 out of 5.00. The decrease of personal accomplishment is shown to be closely related to the burnout of dietitians. The emotional exhaustion in burnout at the significant level 0.001 is increasing as the annual gross salary is low, their age is young, extra-working hours are long, and is high to the dietitians serving meals and working at entrusted companies. The factors affected by burnout experience vary with individual circumstances. So, to prevent the emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment, hospital dietitians' spiritual and physical health needs to be kept up by their self-development and investment.
Demography ; Depersonalization ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Investments ; Job Satisfaction ; Meals ; Salaries and Fringe Benefits ; Surveys and Questionnaires

This study was designed to examine the factors that influence the burnout of nurses practice healthcare in a hospital setting. Subjects for this study were 245 nurses working at University K hospital in Seoul, Korea. Data for this study was collected from 15 to 27 April, 2002. The data collection instruments used for this study are as follows: Maslach Burnout Inventory(1981), Orientation to Life Question- naire(Sense of Coherence, SOC) by Antonovsky (1987) and Modified Coping Resources Inventory developed by author. The analysis of the data was completed using the descriptive, ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and stepwise multiple regression using the SAS program software. The results of this study were as follows: 1. Total mean score of burnout was 4.0. Mean scores of the subscales were; emotional exhausion 4.7, personalization 3.7, and personal accomplishment 3.4.2. Significant statistical differences according to demographic characteristics of the subjects were found in the variables of age, job position, years of working, perceived job stress, and burnout. 3. Burnout was negatively related to sense of coherence(r= -.65) and coping resources (r= -.40); subscales of SOC of comprehensibility(r= -.57), manageability (r= -.55), and meaningfulness(r= -.52); subscales of coping of self-care(r= -.36), and cognitive coping(r= -.39).4. Job stress was the highest factor influence burnout. Sixty-one percent of the total variance of burnout was experienced by variables of comprehensibility, meaning- fulness, age, self-care, manageability and leisure activities including job stress. In conclusion, it was found that a low level of burnout was related to high scores of SOC and coping resources. Job stress, manageability, and meaningfulness were the highest factors influencing the level of subscale of emotional exhausion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Therefore, it is necessary to search for strategies to promote SOC and coping resources for reducing the level of burnout of nurses.
Data Collection ; Delivery of Health Care ; Depersonalization ; Humans ; Korea ; Leisure Activities ; Self Care ; Sense of Coherence ; Seoul

BACKGROUND: Burnout is a common problem for interns and residents. It may be related to medical error, but little is known about this relationship. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between burnout and perceived medical errors among interns and residents. METHODS: The study group consisted of interns and residents working in a university hospital in Busan. Data were provided by 86 (58.5%) of 147 interns and residents. They completed a questionnaire including self-assessment of medical errors, a linear analog self-assessment of overall quality of life (QOL), fatigue, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and a validated depression screening tool. RESULTS: According to univariate logistic regression analyses, there was an association between perceived medical errors and fatigue (odds ratio [OR], 1.37 per unit increase; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12 to 1.69; P < 0.003) and ESS scores (OR, 1.13 per unit increase; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.23; P < 0.009). Perceived medical errors were also associated with burnout (ORs per 1-unit change; emotional exhaustion OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.13; P < 0.005; depersonalization OR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.21; P < 0.013), a negative depression screen (OR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.11 to 0.76; P < 0.013), and overall QOL (OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.70 to 0.98; P < 0.033). In multivariate logistic regression analyses, an association was identified between perceived medical errors and emotional exhaustion (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.11; P < 0.046) when adjusted for ESS, and depersonalization (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.19; P < 0.04) when adjusted for fatigue. CONCLUSION: Higher levels of burnout among interns and residents were associated with perceived medical errors.
Depersonalization ; Depression ; Fatigue ; Logistic Models ; Mass Screening ; Medical Errors ; Quality of Life ; Self-Assessment

Kleine-Levin syndrome is a rare disorder which usually affects adolescent males and is characterized by periodic hypersomnia, hyperphagia and abnormal behavior. This is an unexplained clinical syndrome for which several etiologies have been entertained with no standard treatment is yet available. A 18-year old woman began suffering from recurrent hypersomnia, hyperphagia, and behavioral disturbances such as irritability, derealization, and amnesia. She was normal between the episodes and diagnosed as Kleine-Levin syndrome. In the course of about two years she had 11 episodes and the mean interval between the episodes was 52.8+/-16.7 days. After application of amantadine, there were two mild episodes and then she had no episodes for more than 6 months. This case suggests the possible role of amantadine in the treatment of Kleine-Levin syndrome.
Adolescent ; Amantadine* ; Amnesia ; Depersonalization ; Disorders of Excessive Somnolence ; Female* ; Humans ; Hyperphagia ; Kleine-Levin Syndrome* ; Male

It has been claimed that the progress of psychiatry has lagged behind that of other medical disciplines over the last few decades. This may suggest the need for innovative thinking and research in psychiatry, which should consider neglected areas as topics of interest in light of the potential progress which might be made in this regard. This review is concerned with one such field of psychiatry: dissociation and dissociative disorders. Dissociation is the ultimate form of human response to chronic developmental stress, because patients with dissociative disorders report the highest frequency of childhood abuse and/or neglect among all psychiatric disorders. The cardinal feature of dissociation is a disruption in one or more mental functions. Dissociative amnesia, depersonalization, derealization, identity confusion, and identity alterations are core phenomena of dissociative psychopathology which constitute a single dimension characterized by a spectrum of severity. While dissociative identity disorder (DID) is the most pervasive condition of all dissociative disorders, partial representations of this spectrum may be diagnosed as dissociative amnesia (with or without fugue), depersonalization disorder, and other specified dissociative disorders such as subthreshold DID, dissociative trance disorder, acute dissociative disorders, and identity disturbances due to exposure to oppression. In addition to constituting disorders in their own right, dissociation may accompany almost every psychiatric disorder and operate as a confounding factor in general psychiatry, including neurobiological and psycho-pharmacological research. While an anti- dissociative drug does not yet exist, appropriate psychotherapy leads to considerable improvement for many patients with dissociative disorders.
Amnesia ; Depersonalization ; Diagnosis ; Dissociative Disorders ; Humans ; Multiple Personality Disorder ; Neurobiology ; Psychopathology ; Psychotherapy ; Thinking

PURPOSE: This study is to explore the relationships among spirituality, death anxiety and burnout level of nurses caring for cancer patients. METHODS: Participants were 210 nurses from a cancer hospital in Seoul. Data were collected from April until June 2012 and analyzed using t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffe's test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The mean score for spirituality was 3.51 out of six. Among sub-categories, the one that scored the highest was the purpose and meaning of life, followed by unifying interconnectedness, inner resources and transcendence. The mean score for death anxiety was 3.22, and the sub-categories in the order of high score were denial of death, awareness of the shortness of time, pure death anxiety and fear of matters related to death. For the burnout, the mean was 4.10. Among sub-categories, highest mark was found with emotional exhaustion, followed by depersonalization and personal accomplishment. The spirituality level was negatively correlated with those of death anxiety and burnout. Death anxiety was positively correlated with burnout levels. Nurses with the higher spirituality level also had a higher level of education and experience of spiritual education, believed in the existence of God. In contrast, death anxiety and burnout levels were higher among those with a lower level of education, atheists, and for those who answered that religion has little influence on life. CONCLUSION: Thus, it is necessary to provide spiritual interventions for nurses who care for cancer patients to develop their spirituality, reduce death anxiety and prevent them from burning out easily.
Anxiety* ; Burnout, Professional ; Burns ; Cancer Care Facilities* ; Denial (Psychology) ; Depersonalization ; Education ; Humans ; Spirituality*

OBJECTIVE: Empathy is important in the education of medical students. Many psychosocial variables are related to empathy. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between empathy and psychosocial factors such as burnout, personality, self-esteem, and resilience. METHODS: The participants completed a set of self-reporting questionnaires, including questions related to socio-demographic characteristics, the Korean edition of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy, student version (JSE-S-K), Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey (MBI-GS), NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (R-SES), and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Partial correlation and regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: In male students, there were positive correlations between JSE-S-K and R-SES (r=0.229, p=0.002); conscientiousness of the NEO-FFI (r=0.153, p=0.037) and negative correlations, specifically between JSE-S-K and depersonalization of MBI (r=-0.206, p=0.005). In female students, there was positive correlations between JSE-S-K and personal accomplishment of MBI (r=0.384, p=0.004). In the multiple regression model, the JSE-S-K was affected by conscientiousness of the NEO-FFI (adjusted R² =0.245, β=0.201, p=0.001); depersonalization, personal accomplishment of the MBI-GS (β=-0.188, p=0.001, β=0.143, p=0.017); R-SES (β=0.176, p=0.004); sex (β=0.117, p=0.029). CONCLUSION: The present findings suggested that conscientiousness, depersonalization, personal accomplishment, self-esteem and sex have an influence on empathy. Therefore, these must be considered in medical education and can be helpful to nurture more empathetic doctors.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Depersonalization ; Education ; Education, Medical ; Empathy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Psychology ; Students, Medical