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Background: Although clinical training is an important component of healthcare education, it is nevertheless a significant source of stress for students. There is limited information on stress and satisfaction perceived by clinical-level undergraduate students studying respiratory therapy (RT) in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study design with an online questionnaire was employed to conduct this study. Data collection occurred during the academic year 2022-2023 among RT students throughout Saudi Arabia. Patricians responded to demographic questions, the Students Stress Scale and Students Professional Satisfaction questionnaires. Descriptive, inferential, and correlational statistics were used to analyze the collected responses. Results: A total of 1001 undergraduate RT students completed the online survey. RT students and interns had an overall moderate to high stress level (mean (SD); 3.55 (0.49)), while satisfaction was perceived as mild to moderate (mean (SD): 2.56 (0.65)). In addition, 38% of the study participants have considered quitting the RT program. Female students showed higher stress levels in the following domains: inadequate knowledge and training, adverse and embarrassing experiences, clinical supervision, patients' pain, and Education-reality conflict (p<0.005) compared to male students. Additionally, students who considered quitting the RT program revealed higher stress levels in all domains (p<0.005). There were negative correlations between satisfaction and stress domains: inadequate knowledge and training (r = -0.32; p = 0.001), adverse and embarrassing experience (r = -0.31; p = 0.025), close supervision (r = -0.24; p = 0.001), insufficient hospital resources (r = -0.30; p 0.002), patients' pain and suffering (r = 0.28; p = 0.04), and education - reality conflict (r = -0.30; p = 0.001). Conclusion: During clinical training, respiratory therapy students experience moderate to high-stress levels and low satisfaction. There need to be tailored interventions to reduce stress and intention to quit and increase students' clinical experience satisfaction.
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Objective: Depression is a common comorbidity in patients with asthma with a significant impact on clinical management. However, little information is available about physicians' perceptions and current practices in identifying and managing depression in individuals with asthma in Saudi Arabia. Thus, this study aims to assess physicians' views and current practices of identifying and managing depression in patients with asthma in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was employed. Between September 2022 and February 2023, an online survey was distributed to physicians (general practitioners and family, internal and pulmonary medicine specialists) in Saudi Arabia. Descriptive statistics were performed to analyze the collected responses. Results: Out of 1800 invited participants, a total of 1162 physicians completed the online survey. Nearly 40% of the respondents received adequate training for managing depression. More than 60% of physicians reported that depression interferes with self-management and worsens asthma symptoms, while 50% viewed the importance of regular screening for depression. Less than 40% (n=443) aim to identify depression during patients' visits. Of those, only 20% always screen for depression in asthma patients. Physicians show a low level of confidence when asking patients about their feelings (30%), being able to recognize depression (23%), and knowing if patients have depression (23%). The most common barriers linked to recognizing depression are high workload (50%), lack of time to screen for depression (46%), limited knowledge about depression (42%), and poor training (41%). Conclusion: The rate of recognizing and confidently managing depression in asthmatic patients is significantly low. This is attributed to high workload, poor training, and limited knowledge about depression. There is a need to support psychiatric training and implement a systematic approach to depression detection in clinical settings.
RESUMEN
Although personal resilience and supervisory support are known to reduce the impact of burnout and quitting intention, there is limited data available to explore these relationships among healthcare professionals (HCPs) in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of burnout and explore its association with resilience, supervisory support, and intention to quit among Saudi Arabian HCPs. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was distributed to a convenience sample of HCPs between April and November 2022. Participants responded to socio-demographic questions, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel (MBI-HSS (MP)), the Connor-Davidson resilience scale 10 (CD-RISC 10), and the Perceived of Supervisor Support Scale (PSS). Descriptive, inferential, correlation, and logistic regression tests were performed for data analyses. RESULTS: Of the 1174 HCPs included in the analysis, 77% were presented with high burnout levels: 58% with emotional exhaustion (EE), 72% with depersonalization (DP), and 66% with low personal accomplishment (PA). Females were associated with increased odds of burnout (OR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.04-2.06) compared to males. Burnout and its subscales were associated with higher intention to leave practice, with 33% of HCPs considering quitting their jobs. Furthermore, HCPs reported a low resilience score overall, and negative correlations were found between EE (r = -0.21; p < 0.001) and DP (r = -0.12; p < 0.01), and positive correlation with low PA (r = 0.38; p < 0.001). In addition, most HCPs perceived supervisory support as low, and it is associated with increased burnout and quitting intention. CONCLUSION: Burnout is common among HCPs across all clinical settings and is associated with higher intention to quit and low resilience and supervisory support. Workplace management should provide a supportive workplace to reduce burnout symptoms and promote resiliency.