An exploratory study, comparing burnout between Maltese podiatrists working in Governmental Podiatry Clinics and those working in private practice only.

Abstract

Objective This study seeked to explore the degree of burnout amongst Maltese podiatrists and to determine whether Maltese podiatrists who work in Governmental Podiatry Clinics exhibit the same levels of burnout as those working in Private Practice only. The objectives were to measure the level of burnout experienced by State Registered Podiatrists who work in Governmental Podiatry Clinics and those who work in Private Practice only, and to identify variables which may be causing burnout in Maltese State Registered Podiatrists. Research Design and Method A comparative quantitative survey design was conducted amongst 18 Maltese State Registered Podiatrists. The sample comprised 13 podiatrists working on full-time employment (i.e., 40hrs per week) within the Governmental Health Sector and 5 podiatrists working on full-time employment (i.e., 40hrs per week) within the Private Practice only. This study was conducted between August 2009 and October 2009. Consenting participants were asked to fill in the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and a Data Collection Sheet once during this study. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory was used in order to explore the degree of burnout amongst the two groups of podiatrists. Results The study found no significant difference (P= 0.067) in the level of burnout between Maltese podiatrists working in Governmental Health Sector and those working in Private Practice only. Moreover, this study has concluded that a low degree of burnout is present amongst the two groups of Maltese podiatrists (Governmental Podiatry Clinics, Mean = 48.8866 and Private Podiatry Clinics Mean= 31.8421). However, the results do highlight that podiatrists working in Governmental Podiatry Clinics are exhibiting a higher degree of burnout when compared to podiatrists working in Private Practice only. Moreover, a number of differences between the mean burnout scores for each subscale in the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory such as the level of emotional exhaustion, physical exhaustion and feelings of weakness were also noted between the two groups. Conclusions This study has indicated that the overall mean burnout score is low for both groups of podiatrists. Moreover, results concluded that despite the fact that no significant differences was found to be present between the two groups of podiatrists, mean scores have demonstrated that podiatrists working within the Governmental Health Sector reported a higher degree of burnout than those working in Private Practice only. These findings are congruent with other studies conducted abroad, however recommendations suggest further research in this study area since this study was the first of its kind to be conducted in Malta.