Application of a mindfulness program among healthcare professionals in an intensive care unit: Effect on burnout, empathy and self-compassion. / Aplicación de un programa de mindfulness en profesionales de un servicio de medicina intensiva. Efecto sobre el burnout, la empatía y la autocompasión.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a mindfulness training program on the levels of burnout, mindfulness, empathy and self-compassion among healthcare professionals in an Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary hospital. DESIGN: A longitudinal study with an intrasubject pre-post intervention design was carried out. SETTING: Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary hospital. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 32 subjects (physicians, nurses and nursing assistants) participated in the study. INTERVENTION: A clinical session/workshop was held on the practice of mindfulness and its usefulness. The possibility of following an 8-week training program with specifically designed short guided practices supported by a virtual community based on a WhatsApp group was offered. A weekly proposal in audio and text format and daily reminders with stimulating messages of practice were sent. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Various psychometric measures were self-reported: burnout (MBI), mindfulness (FFMQ), empathy (Jefferson) and self-compassion (SCS), before and after the training program. Demographic and workplace variables were also compiled. RESULTS: Among the factors affecting burnout, the level of emotional exhaustion decreased (-3.78 points; P=.012), mindfulness levels measured by the FFMQ were not globally modified, though "observation" and "non-reacting" factors increased. Empathy was not modified, and self-compassion levels increased (3.7 points; P=.001). Satisfaction and program adherence levels were very high. CONCLUSIONS: In the population described, this program showed a decrease in emotional exhaustion and an increase in self-compassion -these being factors that can produce well-being and exert a positive impact upon burnout in this vulnerable group.

Occupational exposure to volatile anaesthetics: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The effects of long-term occupational exposure to small concentrations of volatile anaesthetics on health professionals are still uncertain despite the research literature available on this subject. AIMS: To analyse the existing literature on the health effects of volatile anaesthetics on exposed health professionals. METHODS: We performed a systematic review from March 2013 to January 2014. The literature was searched in the Medline and Cochrane libraries using the following keywords: 'Anaesthetics AND occupational health', 'Volatile anaesthetics AND occupational health', 'Sevoflurane AND occupational health' and 'Occupational surveillance AND anaesthetics', with no time limit. We used the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network to evaluate the quality of studies and to grade the recommendations. RESULTS: From 1429 articles retrieved from the databases and an additional 20 obtained from secondary sources, we excluded 1391 (95.9%). After excluding duplicate publications, we finally included 17 articles in the review. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence for adverse effects of volatile anaesthetics on exposed personnel is scarce and inconsistent, but there is no evidence of adverse effects when environmental levels are kept within legal threshold values. Further studies are needed to improve our knowledge of the effects of occupational exposure to volatile anaesthetics. New surveillance methods that include systematic data collection, clinical signs and biomarkers of exposure are required to formulate consistent and reproducible surveillance criteria for exposed personnel.