Acta Medica Port
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Physicians working in palliative care have a greater risk of burnout. Burnout has three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduction of personal accomplishments. Burnout is associated with different consequences for the professionals like less professional satisfaction and increase of overall levels of exhaustion. Burnout in healthcare professionals has an impact in the patients with increased probability of clinical erros. In order to monitor the quality of the care it is mandatory to assess overall levels of burnout. This study aimed to determine burnout levels and associated variables of physicians working in the Portuguese national network of palliative care. ⋯ There was a high level of burnout among physicians working in the Portuguese National Network of Palliative Care. Measures to identify and prevent burnout are necessary in order to protect these professionals.