Assessing Psychometrists' Practices to Inform Neuropsychological Services.

Document Type

Article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Quality of life (QOL) is a broad-ranging concept affecting an individual's physical health, psychological state, social relationships, and relationship to their environment. Although the role of psychometrists in clinical neuropsychology is integral to the delivery of services, little is known about their QOL. The current study assessed psychometrists' workload and aspects related to work QOL (e.g., physical and emotional exhaustion, social and work satisfaction).

METHOD: Psychometrists (N = 164) from 38 states completed a nationally distributed survey. Participants averaged eight years of experience, ~29% completed board certification, and worked primarily in general hospitals (~36%), academic medical centers (~21%), private practice (~15%), veterans/military hospitals (~13%), and rehabilitation hospitals (~12%).

RESULTS: Respondents saw 5.6±2.4 (Mean±Standard Deviation) patients and spent 18.8±6.9 and 9.4±4.9 hours administering and scoring, respectively, per week. Although the majority of respondents felt satisfied with their work QOL, approximately 49% experienced emotional exhaustion, 42% experienced burnout, and 62% reported that fatigue interfered with work, family, or social life. Correlational analyses found a significant relationship between QOL variables and professional activities, particularly with time spent scoring. Additionally, patient load, time spent administering/scoring, and QOL factors varied depending on work setting.

CONCLUSION: The current study provides a novel characterization of psychometrists' QOL. Specifically, the prevalence of emotional exhaustion and fatigue appears to be higher than in the general working population in the United States. In addition, these findings highlight the current variability of job responsibilities and QOL across work settings. Ongoing advocacy and practice adjustments for this field are indicated.

Medical Subject Headings

Burnout, Professional; Humans; Job Satisfaction; Neuropsychological Tests; Quality of Life; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States; Workload

Publication Date

7-19-2021

Publication Title

Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists

ISSN

1873-5843

Volume

36

Issue

5

First Page

693

Last Page

701

PubMed ID

33316054

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1093/arclin/acaa122

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