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Professional Burnout of Psychiatrists in a Veterans Health Administration: Exploring the Role of the Organizational Treatment

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Abstract

Psychiatrists in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) are susceptible to professional burnout due to the unique needs of veterans combined with high organizational demands. The current study examined the mediating role of organizational factors in the direct relationship between providing primarily pharmacological intervention and professional burnout. Data from 125 VHA psychiatrists revealed that fair treatment by superiors and sufficient resources independently mediated the direct relationship that the percent of time devoted to pharmacological intervention had with emotional exhaustion and cynicism. Psychiatrists who feel unfairly treated and lack sufficient resources reported more professional burnout. Implications and future directions are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

MCV is supported by a training grant (T32-AA018108) from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in the United States.

Funding

This is an unfunded study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions, University of New Mexico, 2650 Yale Blvd SE, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, USA

    Margo C. Villarosa-Hurlocker

  2. Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, 2400 Canal St., New Orleans, LA, 70119, USA

    Margo C. Villarosa-Hurlocker & Lisa-Ann J. Cuccurullo

  3. South Central VA Healthcare Network Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), 1601 Perdido St., New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Lisa-Ann J. Cuccurullo

  4. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, 1430 Tulane Ave, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Lisa-Ann J. Cuccurullo

  5. Texas Valley Coastal Bend Veterans Health Care System, 2701 South 77 Sunshine Strip, Harlingen, TX, 78550, USA

    Hector A. Garcia

  6. Department of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA

    Hector A. Garcia & Erin P. Finley

  7. South Texas Veterans Health Care System, 7400 Merton Minter St, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA

    Erin P. Finley

Authors
  1. Margo C. Villarosa-Hurlocker
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  2. Lisa-Ann J. Cuccurullo
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  4. Erin P. Finley
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Correspondence to Lisa-Ann J. Cuccurullo.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. For this type of study formal consent is not required.

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Villarosa-Hurlocker, M.C., Cuccurullo, LA.J., Garcia, H.A. et al. Professional Burnout of Psychiatrists in a Veterans Health Administration: Exploring the Role of the Organizational Treatment. Adm Policy Ment Health 46, 1–9 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-018-0879-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-018-0879-5

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