Burnout Syndrome in the Intensive Care Unit Before and During a Palliative Care Trial

One hundred ICU doctors, nurses and psychologists from 4 / 8 ICUs of the Greek group of the 28 European units participating in the EPIC stepped-wedge trial (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06605079) will each complete the same four-part survey twice-once during their unit's usual-care phase and again during the EPIC tele-palliative-care intervention. The questionnaire begins with Part A, gathering demographic and professional details such as age, gender, family status, education, role, years of ICU service, shift patterns, leave days and any prior palliative-care or ethics training. Part B then probes 22 workplace stressors and ethical dilemmas-resource constraints, family pressures, moral conflicts, emotional distancing from colleagues, perceived control over decisions and work-life balance-using a five-point frequency scale. Part C merges a 19-item Maslach Burnout Inventory subset (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment) on a seven-point frequency scale with a 16-item Oldenburg Burnout Inventory subset (exhaustion, disengagement) on a four-point agreement scale. Finally, Part D employs Neff's 16-item Self-Compassion Scale-rated from almost never to almost always-to assess self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness, self-judgment, isolation and over-identification. Within-subject, repeated-measures analyses of total and subscale scores will quantify how EPIC's blended-learning curriculum and standardized teleconsultations shift clinician burnout profiles and self-compassion over time.

Inclusion Criteria: * ICU clinicians (nurses, physicians, advanced practice providers) actively caring for critically ill patients * Employed in participating ICUs for ≥3 months prior to study start * Willing to complete both pre- and during-intervention surveys * Consent to participate in educational tele-palliative care trial Exclusion Criteria: * Locum tenens or temporary staff not continuously assigned to the unit * Clinicians on leave (medical, parental, or extended leave) during either survey period * Prior enrollment in similar palliative care training within past 6 months