Citation

O'Hara MA, McCann TA, Fan W, Lane MM, Kernie SG, Rosenthal SL. Clin. Pediatr. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0009922820905865

PMID

32070135

Abstract

Pediatricians caring for patients with child abuse or neglect (CABN) may experience secondary traumatic stress (STS) from traumatized patients, or burnout (BO) from workplace stress. This may be buffered by compassion satisfaction (CS), positive meaning from one's work. For this study, STS, BO, and CS specific to a pediatrician's care of CABN were assessed for residents, hospitalists, intensivists, and outpatient physicians. Using the Professional Quality of Life Scale modified for CABN experiences, participants (n = 62) had a mean STS score at the 84th percentile, a mean BO score at the 66th percentile, and a mean CS score at the 17th percentile. Reporting one CABN patient as most emotionally impactful predicted STS, caring for all types of CABN predicted BO, and perceived knowledge no longer predicted CS when adjusting for the experience of mandated reporting or CABN fatality. These results highlight the need to support pediatricians involved with CABN.

Language: en

Keywords

burnout; child abuse; child neglect; compassion satisfaction; physician well-being; secondary traumatic stress