Background

Burnout syndrome is closely related to career-related issues.

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to determine work-related behaviors presented by physicians, nurses and paramedics with regard to their sociodemographic data and social competence.

Material and methods

The study was conducted in 2015–2016 and involved 432 medical workers, including 144 (33.5%) physicians, 165 (37.7%) nurses and 123 (28.8%) paramedics. The median age was 28 years (range: 20–66). The research instruments were: the Work-Related Behavior and Experience Pattern (AVEM) questionnaire, the Social Competence Questionnaire (SC Q) by Anna Matczak and a self-developed questionnaire.

Results

Symptoms of burnout syndrome (Type B) were observed in one-fourth of medical workers. 31.8% (135) of all participants presented Type G. The behavior types prevailing in particular groups were as follows: paramedics – Type G and Type S; physicians – Risk Type A and Type B, nurses – Type B and Type G. 62.4% (189) of the participants had an average level of general competence (4–7 sten), and 15.8% (48) had a low level of general competence (1–3 sten). The general competence level correlated with Type G (r = 0.17; p = 0.05).

Conclusions

Burnout syndrome (Type B) occurs in physicians, nurses and paramedics regardless of their place of work and is related to a low level of social competence. A high level of social competence protects physicians, nurses and paramedics against job burnout.