چکیده (انگلیسی):

Background:General practice is stressful and burnout is common among family physicians. A growing body of
evidence suggests that the way physicians relate to their patients could be linked to burnout. The goal of this study
was to examine how patterns of empathy explained physicians’ burnout.
Methods:We surveyed 294 French general practitioners (response rate 39%), measured burnout, empathic concern
(EC) and perspective taking (PT) using self-reported questionnaires, and modeled burnout levels and frequencies
with EC, PT and their interaction in linear and logistic regression analyses.
Results:Multivariate linear models for burnout prediction were associated with lower PT (β=−0.21, p < 0.001) and
lower EC (β=−0.17, p < 0.05). Interestingly, the interaction (EC x PT) also predicted burnout levels (β= 0.11,
p < 0.05). The investigation of interactions revealed that high scores on PT predicted lower levels of burnout
independent from EC (odd ratios (OR) 0.37; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.21–0.65 p < 0.001), and high scores
on both EC and PT were protective against burnout: OR 0.31; 95% CI 0.15–0.63, p < 0.001).
Conclusions:Deficits in PT alone might be a risk factor for burnout, whereas higher PT and EC might be protective.
Educators should take into account how the various components of empathy are potentially associated with
emotional outcomes in physicians.