Burnout and Professional Fulfillment: Associations With Interprofessional Communication Skills and Climate Among Clinical Health Professionals

Objective Effective communication in interprofessional settings is a key modifiable factor in addressing burnout among health care professionals. Previous research has paid less attention to the multilevel nature of interprofessional communication. This paper proposes a model explaining how individual-level factors (communication skills and uncertainty tolerance) and group-level factors (teamwork and response to errors) are linked to burnout via professional fulfillment. Methods Survey data were gathered from clinical health professionals in a tertiary teaching hospital in the United States. Multivariate linear regression and structural equation models were used to test our hypotheses. Results Individual-level communication skills and uncertainty tolerance and group-level teamwork and response to error were positively associated with professional fulfillment, which in turn tempered burnout among clinical professionals. Conclusions Enhancing individual communication skills and organizational communication climate are likely to mitigate burnout and enhance fulfillment among clinical professionals.