Chest
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Case Reports
A 56-Year-Old, Otherwise Healthy Woman Presenting With Light-headedness and Progressive Shortness of Breath.
A 56-year-old white woman was referred to the pulmonary clinic for evaluation of unexplained shortness of breath. She enjoyed good health until 3 months prior to this visit when she reported experiencing recurrent episodes of shortness of breath and oppressive retrosternal chest discomfort with radiation to the neck. ⋯ Her past medical history was uneventful apart from a prior diagnosis of breast cysts and suspected prolactinoma. Her symptoms escalated to such a level that she was forced to seek urgent medical attention at our institutional ED on two separate occasions in the preceding weeks. These visits precipitated a number of investigations and, eventually, a referral to the pulmonary clinic.
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Burnout syndrome (BOS) occurs in all types of health-care professionals and is especially common in individuals who care for critically ill patients. The development of BOS is related to an imbalance of personal characteristics of the employee and work-related issues or other organizational factors. BOS is associated with many deleterious consequences, including increased rates of job turnover, reduced patient satisfaction, and decreased quality of care. ⋯ The present article reviews the diagnostic criteria, prevalence, causative factors, and consequences of BOS. It also discusses potential interventions that may be used to prevent and treat BOS. Finally, we urge multiple stakeholders to help mitigate the development of BOS in critical care health-care professionals and diminish the harmful consequences of BOS, both for critical care health-care professionals and for patients.