Abstract
This poster explores the prevalence of moral distress and burnout among health science professionals who serve as clinical educators, as well as the correlation to number of students per year. This is vital to understand while there is a heightened need for skilled clinical educators as education programs grow in size and number in addition to the current increased demand for clinical placements after suspensions and delays as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Primary Author and Speaker: Patricia Higgins
Contributing Authors: Allison Kellish, Dana Fleming, Sarah Gotthold, and Marvelyn Tiziani
While it is agreed upon that clinical education is an important component in the preparation of health science professionals, there has been an increased difficulty securing clinical placements and willing clinical educators, possibly due to feeling overwhelmed by working in a demanding environment while providing quality student education. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of moral distress and burnout due to moral injury among health science professionals, specifically occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, and social workers who serve as clinical educators. In addition, this study sought to identify if a correlation existed between moral distress and burn out as well as the impact the number of students supervised in a year had on a clinicians level of moral distress and burnout. This descriptive correlational study used an anonymous survey, which consisted of a demographics questionnaire, the Moral Distress Scale-Revised-Occupational Therapist Adult Setting (MDS-R-OT[A]), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey Medical Personal (MBI-HSS (MP). Statistical analyses included calculations for means and standard deviations of the survey scores, followed by Pearson r correlations and ANOVA to compare each dimension of the MBI-HSS (MP) to the MDS-R-OT[A]. Post hoc analyses using Bonferroni multiple comparison tests were conducted to find statistical significance between the subcategories of the MBI-HSS (MP) and the MDS-R-OT[A]. Data from 75 completed surveys revealed that clinical educators identify as having moral distress and burnout, with a strong relationship between emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. These findings elucidate the need for strategies to minimize sources of moral distress and burnout of clinicians to allow for engagement in clinical education. A statistically significant negative correlation was found when comparing the number of students per year and the MBI-HSS (MP) depersonalization dimension, indicating that having a clinical student in fact increases the health science professionals feeling of connectivity to their clients. These findings suggest that moral injury exists in the form of moral distress and burnout in health science professionals who serve in the role of clinical educator. Having a healthy workforce of clinicians who can take on the additional responsibilities of being clinical educators is essential in supporting the needs of students during their clinical rotations. Developing an understanding of the underpinning of moral distress and burnout of clinical educators could aid in the identification of more effective strategies to address the pressing dilemma of the shortage of clinical educators and difficulty of placing students for clinical education. This information is vital more than ever following the COVID-19 pandemic due to the suspension of so many clinical placements and the increasing demand being placed on educational programs as well as clinical sites for clinical placements for students.
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Penny, N. H., Bires, S. J., Bonn, E. A., Dockery, A. N., & Pettit, N. L. (2016). Moral Distress Scale for occupational therapists: Part 1. Instrument development and content validity. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70, 7004300020. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2015.018358