Relationship between empathy, compassion and burnout in medical students, residents and medical professionals in Medellin

Physicians are exposed to high levels of work pressure, which leads to a higher risk of Burnout. Empathy is the cognitive and affective recognition of a person's state of mind and situation. Compassion is a response to the recognition of the patient's suffering and the desire to reduce it. Objectives: to explore the relationship between empathy, compassion and Burnout in medical students and professionals and other variables related to the syndrome. Method: 143 physi-cians and students answered a sociodemographic questionnaire, the MBI, the TECA, and the Compassionate Commitment and Action Scale. Results: 41.9 % showed high levels of emotional exhaustion, 21 % depersonalization and 19.5 % low levels of accomplishment. Burnout levels were negatively associated with the perception of balance between social, family and work life, compassion and age; F(5, 92) = 11.012, p < 0.00; (p < 0.05). Emotional fatigue interrupted the development of behaviors related to self-compassion and confirmed the perception of suc-cess. Conclusions: For physicians to have optimal levels of affective empathy and compassion, the development of cognitive empathy and emotional regulation skills is essential. These are protective factors for Burnout.