The emergency department is the frontline of care in any hospital. Quality of work is affected by the skills and knowledge of the medical staff and the stress in their daily grind. The emergency department cannot perform its primary function if its personnel continue to feel the burden of their jobs.

This is a descriptive study of the emergency department staff at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital. A self-administered questionnaire with socio-demographic and occupational variables using the 22-item Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) Scale assessing emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and professional accomplishment was used.

Results were analyzed according to the major subscales of the MBI Scale. The percentage having severe, moderate, and low burnout levels were determined and analyzed based on demographic data (e.g., gender, age, marital status, years of experience, and qualification).

Eighty-seven qualified emergency personnel were surveyed. Of them, 41 were nurses, 13 were emergency medicine residents, 11 worked for Medical Social Service (MSS), 11 were emergency medical services (EMS) personnel/paramedics, and 11 were emergency department records personnel. Only 64 respondents were able to return the questionnaires (73.5%). Most of the male respondents had low burnout in emotional exhaustion and loss of empathy. They also scored low burnout at the professional level, which indicates that males were more satisfied with their professional achievements. The majority of the respondents 21—40 years of age had low and moderate burnout in the three subscales. Those in the 41–60 year and >61 year age groups experienced low burnout on all subscales. The unmarried showed moderate burnout in emotional exhaustion, but the majority of married respondents had low burnout in loss of empathy and professional fulfillment. Working in the emergency department for six months or six months-one year showed that the majority experienced moderate burnout, but revealed low burnout in professional fulfillment.

The emergency medicine residents reported to have severe burnout in emotional exhaustion, but scored moderate burnout in loss of empathy and professional fulfillment. The EMS personnel had the lowest burnout level of all three subscales