The Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) is a 30-item self-report questionnaire that measures the positive and negative effects of helping others who experience trauma or suffering. It captures three dimensions of professional quality of life, compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress, giving healthcare workers and their organizations insight into occupational wellbeing.
Why healthcare providers use the ProQOL
- Screens for compassion fatigue. It surfaces burnout and secondary traumatic stress early, when supportive steps are most effective.
- Highlights protective factors. The compassion satisfaction subscale captures the positive rewards of helping work, not only its costs.
- Supports staff wellbeing programs. Aggregate results help teams gauge workforce strain and guide organizational decision-making.
- Freely available and widely validated. The scale has been studied across many helping professions and translated into numerous languages.
Which settings use the ProQOL?
- Behavioral health practices. Therapists, counselors, and social workers use it to monitor their own professional quality of life.
- Hospitals and health systems. Nursing, emergency, and oncology teams track burnout and secondary traumatic stress across the workforce.
- Crisis and trauma services. First responders and victim advocates who work with trauma survivors use it to assess exposure effects.
- Training and supervision. Educators and clinical supervisors use results to open conversations about self-care and support.
What does the ProQOL measure?
The ProQOL measures professional quality of life, the balance of positive and negative feelings that arise from helping people who have experienced suffering or trauma. It is organized into three separate subscales of ten items each, and each subscale is scored and interpreted on its own rather than combined into a single total.
- Compassion satisfaction. The pleasure and sense of fulfillment derived from doing helping work well.
- Burnout. Feelings of exhaustion, frustration, and difficulty doing the job effectively.
- Secondary traumatic stress. Work-related distress from exposure to the traumatic experiences of the people being helped.
Scoring the ProQOL
- Number of items: 30 items, split evenly into three subscales of 10 items each.
- Per-item scale: 5-point frequency scale from 1 (never) to 5 (very often).
- Subscale score range: each subscale sums to a raw score between 10 and 50, with selected items reverse-scored before summing.
- Score direction: higher compassion satisfaction is favorable, while higher burnout or secondary traumatic stress reflects greater strain.
The ProQOL does not produce a single overall score, and the manual recommends converting raw subscale sums before comparing them. The cut points below apply to each subscale separately, so the same band carries different meaning depending on which subscale it describes. A high compassion satisfaction score is a positive sign, whereas high burnout or secondary traumatic stress scores guide clinical decision-making toward further conversation and support. Scores describe experience over the past 30 days and are not a diagnosis.
| Score | Interpretation | Suggested next step |
|---|---|---|
| 22 or less | Low level on the subscale | Consider further assessment |
| 23 to 41 | Average level on the subscale | Monitor |
| 42 or more | High level on the subscale | Consider further assessment |
Best practices for administration
- Frame it as self-reflection. Explain that the ProQOL supports wellbeing and is not a performance evaluation.
- Protect confidentiality. Reassure staff that individual responses are handled privately to encourage honest answers.
- Score each subscale separately. Apply reverse scoring where required and avoid combining the subscales into one number.
- Repeat at intervals. Re-administer periodically because scores reflect the previous 30 days and shift with workload.
- Credit the author and keep it unchanged. The scale is free to use but must be reproduced without alteration and with attribution.
How Zentake helps with the ProQOL
- Automatic scoring. Subscale totals are calculated on submit, including reverse-scored items, so there is no hand-tallying.
- Longitudinal tracking. Re-send on a schedule and view how compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress change over time.
- Before the visit. Staff and mental health practices complete the ProQOL from home on any device, ready before the appointment.
- HIPAA compliant. Responses are encrypted, with a signed BAA available on every plan.
References
Stamm, B. H. (2010). The Concise ProQOL Manual (2nd ed.). The manual describes the 30-item structure, the three subscales, reverse scoring, and the recommended cut points for low, average, and high results. Available at proqol.org.
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network confirms the 30-item format, the 1 to 5 frequency scale, the three domains, and that the measure is copyrighted but free to use with attribution and without changes. See the NCTSN measure summary.
Last updated: August 2026