Burnout among Physicians and Nurses Working in Emergency Departments of Public Hospitals in Jordan: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: The rates of burnout among physicians and nurses are increasing globally. However, burnout among health care providers in Jordan is insufficiently explored. Thus, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of burnout among Emergency Departments’ (ED) physicians and nurses in public sector hospitals in Amman- Jordan.Methods: A cross-sectional study that used the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) self-reporting questionnaire to collect data from a convenience sample of 67 physicians and 96 nurses from the ED in 3 public hospitals in Amman. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were conducted using SPSS 24.Results: This study showed that 58.7% of the ED physicians and nurses had a high degree of burnout as an average of combined personal, work-related, and patient-related stressors. Personal-related burnout levels were the highest in 69.3% of the participants. The number of years of experience was a positive predictor for burnout while age was a negative predicator.Conclusions: This study revealed high levels of burnout among the ED physicians and nurses of public sector hospitals in Amman, Jordan. This has serious negative consequences on the personal lives of these healthcare providers, their career, the quality of care they provide to the patients and the healthcare system. This necessitates capacity building of the ER healthcare providers about stress management and coping strategies. Additionally, more efficient nursing shifts and balanced physicians on-call schedules must be applied.