Burnout: Stresses in consultation-liaison psychiatry

The burnout syndrome encompasses both behavioral and emotional symptoms that produce vocational difficulties. Psychiatrists involved in consultation-liaison work may be subjected to unique stresses—including role ambiguity and role con flict—in addition to the stresses that foster burnout in other health care professionals. Patients with complex medical-psychiatric problems, disinterested consultees, and specific situational constraints such as unpredictable schedules and uncomfortable work settings exert further demands. This paper examines these various areas of difficulty and proposes coping strategies. Peer-group support, effective division leadership, routine assessment of goals, and flexible approaches can help relieve the strains inherent in consultation-liaison psychiatry.