The association between the development of professional identity and burnout among Japanese physiotherapists.

This study aimed to determine the association between professional identity and burnout among Japanese physiotherapists.

The analysis included 955 physiotherapists (age: 31.4 ± 8.2 years, 647 men and 308 women) working in Japan. We investigated age, sex, career classification, role models, professional identity, and burnout using a questionnaire. Professional identity was measured using the Professional Identity Scale for Physiotherapists (PISP-37). The PISP-37 consists of 37 items on the development and contribution to junior staff, training and development of professional groups; professional view; practical skills; sense of adjustment; and desire to contribute to multi-professional collaboration. Burnout was measured using the Japanese version of the Burnout Scale, which consists of three factors: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment, which were divided into two groups on average categories, respectively. In the statistical analysis, logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the association between the PISP-37 total score and the three factors of the Japanese Burnout Scale. Statistical software used was SPSS Ver. 29 (IBM), with a significance level of p0.05.

 The average years of experience of the physiotherapists in this study were 8.6 ± 6.7 years. Career classification was 194 freshers (1-2 years), 207 early (3-5 years), 230 mid-term (6-10 years), and 324 late-term (≥11 years). The results of the association between PISP-37 and feelings of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment showed that PISP-37 was associated with emotional exhaustion (OR=0.98, 95% CI; 0.98-0.99, p0.01), depersonalization (OR=0.98, 95% CI; 0.97-0.99, p0.01), and personal accomplishment (OR=0.98, 95% CI; 0.95-0.97, p0.01). In addition, there were significant interactions between PISP-37 and age, PISP-37 and career classification for depersonalization, and PISP-37 and role models for emotional exhaustion (all p0.01).

The results of this study indicated that the development of a professional identity as a physiotherapist could contribute to a reduced feeling of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, as well as an improved sense of personal accomplishment.

 This study showed that, as in other professions, the development of a professional identity in physiotherapists could reduce the risk of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and improve personal accomplishment, which may ultimately contribute to the prevention of burnout. The results of this study suggest that routine PISP-37 screening and the development of a professional identity play an important role in preventing early turnover among physiotherapists.