Predicting Work Stress Burnout in Rural and Urban Emergency Medical Technicians Through the Use of Early Recollections

Problem . Literature on work-stress burnout among emergency medical technicians (EMTs) suggests that they have maintained the same levels of burnout and attrition rates for the past 20 years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between early recollections and burnout in EMTs working in urban and rural locations. Method . A demographic questionnaire, the Staff Burnout Scale for Health Professionals (SBS-HP), and two early recollections, were used to survey 120 emergency medical technicians in Toronto, Ontario and Mojave County, Arizona to assess their level of burnout and to identify various themes in early recollections. Results . The results from the analysis of the data from general demographic information, the SBS-HP, and the early recollections indicated that urban EMTs experienced higher levels of burnout than rural EMTs. No significant findings were found to correlate with any of the eight early recollection themes to global burnout levels, or the four sub-scales of the SBS-HP. Conclusions . As a result of the study the following conclusion was drawn: that EMTs who work in urban areas experience higher levels of burnout than those EMTs in rural areas