Team-based care can reduce burnout

Burnout is a threat to the primary care workforce. The relationship between team structure, team culture, and emotional exhaustion of clinicians and staff in primary care practices was investigated. In total, 231 clinicians and 280 staff members were surveyed. Predictor variables included team structure and perception of team culture. The outcome variable was the Maslach emotional exhaustion scale. Working in a tight team structure and perceptions of a greater team culture were associated with less clinician exhaustion. Team structure and team culture interacted to predict exhaustion: among clinicians reporting low team culture, team structure seemed to have little effect on exhaustion; among clinicians reporting high team culture, tighter team structure was associated with less exhaustion. Greater team culture was associated with less exhaustion among staff. Fostering team culture may be an important strategy to protect against exhaustion in primary care and enhance the benefit of tight team structures.