Oncologists' attitudes and beliefs toward crying with patients and its correlation with burnout.

Abstract

9013 Background: This pilot study examines oncologists' perspectives on expressing emotion, particularly crying, in the presence of patients, the frequency of such moments, and their potential correlation with burnout. We developed a survey to assess these factors and hypothesized that oncologists with more positive attitudes toward emotional expression would report lower burnout scores. Methods: We surveyed physicians who practice oncology and administer cytotoxic therapy to adults at Michigan Medicine, identified using the cancer center directory. The survey, developed by the authors based on a literature review and expert opinion, included 28 questions to assess attitudes and behaviors towards crying, 7 demographic questions, and the 22-question Maslach Burnout Inventory for Healthcare professionals (MBI-HSS). We used Spearman correlations to analyze the relationship between survey questions about frequency and appropriateness of crying and the MBI-HSS subscales: Emotional Exhaustion (EE), Depersonalization (DP), and Personal Accomplishment (PA). Results: We analyzed data from 50 respondents (78.6% response rate). In response to “How often do you cry with your patients,” 45% of providers indicated that they never or rarely (less than once a year) cried, 47% cried 1-3 times a year, 8% cried often (once every 1-2 months) and none cried more frequently (once a week). In response to “Is it appropriate to cry with patients,” 12% of providers indicated that they disagree or strongly disagree, 43% indicated that they neither agree nor disagree, and 45% indicated that they agree or strongly agree. More emotionally expressive physicians had higher Personal Accomplishment scores. Personal Accomplishment was positively correlated with likelihood of crying (r = .36, p = .01) and perceived appropriateness of crying (r = .30, p = .03). Although not statistically significant, physicians with positive attitudes toward the appropriateness of crying showed a trend towards lower Emotional Exhaustion scores (r = -0.24, p = .1). Conclusions: This pilot study highlights the diverse attitudes of oncologists toward crying in the presence of patients. While nearly half of the respondents viewed crying as appropriate, 12% disagreed, and 45% expressed neutrality, suggesting a lack of consensus on the role of emotional expression in patient care. Oncologists who viewed crying more favorably or engaged in emotional expression more frequently reported higher Personal Accomplishment and showed a trend toward lower Emotional Exhaustion. These findings suggest that fostering open discussions among physicians about healthy emotional expression and its role in humanizing patient care may help address burnout. Future studies should also incorporate patients' perspectives to better understand the impact of physicians’ emotional expression on the therapeutic relationship and overall care experience.