The Effects of Virtual Resilience-Based Clinical Supervision on Burnout in Medical Speech-Language Pathologists

Abstract

Purpose: Resilience-based clinical supervision (RBCS) is a program that reduces occupational stress and burnout symptoms in health care professionals. Research has not yet evaluated the program with medical speech-language pathologists (SLPs) or with an online delivery model. This investigation used virtual RBCS to address burnout in medical SLPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Six medical SLPs participated in this combination quasi-experimental study with a baseline and intervention phase single-subject and pretest–posttest design. RBCS was held over Zoom twice a week for eight total sessions. Exercises included brief mindfulness meditations, emotional labeling, and reflective discussions on the underlying sources of stress. An adapted four-question version of the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) collected repeated measures of burnout twice a week across all study phases. Pre-intervention and post-intervention data were collected with full OLBI assessments to further evaluate intervention effects. Results: All participants showed a decrease in burnout at the end of the study. Five of the six medical SLPs experienced statistically significant reductions in burnout. This investigation contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting RBCS for reducing health care burnout, offering a means to increase convenience and accessibility through virtual delivery.