Issue: 2026, Vol. 31, No. 1
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND PROFESSIONAL BURNOUT IN PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS
- Keywords
- emotional intelligence, professional burnout, doctors, polyclinic
- Abstarct
- Professional burnout among polyclinic doctors is a significant medical and social issue that leads to a decrease in the quality of healthcare and staff turnover. Identifying internal resources to combat burnout is therefore a priority. Emotional intelligence has been identified as a key personal resource, but its connection with burnout among primary care physicians has not been fully explored, which makes this study relevant. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the level of emotional intelligence and professional burnout among primary care physicians. Material and Methods. 138 polyclinic doctors were recruited for the study, with an average age of 43.6 ± 11.01 years. A set of psychodiagnostic techniques used included the emotional intelligence test developed by M. Manoilova and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The Kruskal-Wallis H-test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were used for statistical processing. Results and Discussion. Statistically significant differences were found in the indicators of professional burnout and work enthusiasm between groups of doctors with low, medium and high levels of emotional intelligence (p < 0.01). Doctors with higher emotional intelligence showed less severe symptoms of burnout and more engagement. There were significant negative correlations between components of emotional intelligence and symptoms of burnout, such as emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, as well as positive correlations with reduced personal achievements and decreased job engagement (p < 0.01). Conclusion: The development of emotional intelligence should be seen as a crucial aspect of preventing professional burnout and maintaining the professional effectiveness of doctors, within the context of psychological support.
Quid est Veritas_1_ 2026-11-15