Principal Investigator: Galina Hayes

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): 

Burnout has been defined as a psychological state typified by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization or cynicism towards patients and colleagues, and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment and can be quantified using the Maslach burnout inventory. Burnout in veterinary technicians is common and associated with depression, desire to change career, and increased medical errors. Minimizing burnout is important for hiring and retaining staff, reducing medical errors, and optimizing health care unit efficiency and productivity. Risk factors for veterinary technician burnout include poor relationships with immediate supervisors, lack of opportunity to advance technical skills, and low individual resilience scores.

A Prospective before-and after parallel group controlled trial will be conducted in an academic teaching hospital setting employing approximately 150 veterinary technicians within 17 specialty units with 20 direct supervisors. Burnout levels will be assessed at baseline and again following intervention in a paired sample design in the treatment and control groups. Participation will be mandatory at the supervisor level and voluntary at the technician level. The intervention will be implemented first in the small animal hospital over a 6 month period. Technicians working in the large animal hospital will act as the control group over this time. If a positive effect is identified, the intervention will also be implemented in the large animal hospital following study completion. The intervention will consist of a combination of supervisor communication and conflict management training, technician and supervisor resilience skills training, and targeted technician technical skills training.

The MBI will be assessed in participating technicians at baseline and again at the end of the intervention period. Primary outcome will be the difference in MBI score change between the intervention and control groups.

These results would be useful to veterinary hospitals seeking evidence based interventions to address burnout.