Date of Conferral

5-9-2024

Date of Award

May 2024

Degree

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.)

School

Psychology

Advisor

Silvia Bigatti

Abstract

Physician burnout rates have consistently been higher than the general working population; however, recent literature suggested that after a steady decline in physician burnout rates, the COVID-19 global pandemic and additional organizational factors have caused physician burnout to reach an all-time high. Substantial research is available on physician burnout; however, little is known about how a physician’s burnout is experienced in the marital relationship through the spouse’s perspective. This basic qualitative study used purposive, convenience, and snowball sampling methods to recruit 10 female spouses of male physicians to participate in semi-structured interviews. The research question investigated the participants’ perceptions of physician burnout on their marital relationships using the theoretical framework of Bolger’s crossover theory. Data were analyzed using Saldaña’s first and second-cycle descriptive and in-vivo coding method. This process allowed the identification of 10 common themes: sacrifice/loss, loneliness, solo parenting, anger, helplessness, misunderstood, health challenges, self-care, pride in his service, and relationships. The most relevant discovery was that the women felt like single parents and often experienced loneliness, feelings of isolation, and “walking on eggshells” as a result of their husbands’ work-related burnout. Potential implications for positive social change include expanding the conversation on how physician burnout affects the spouse and their families. As a result, programs intended to support medical families can be introduced early in medical training programs and extend throughout the physician’s career to adequately prepare couples for the challenges ahead.

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