https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/wps.20311

Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry.

Objective Burnout is a state of mental and physical exhaustion related to work or care giving activities. Burnout during residency training has gained significant attention secondary to concerns regarding job performance and patient care. This article reviews the relevant literature on burnout in order to provide information to educators about its prevalence, features, impact, and potential interventions. Methods Studies were identified through a Medline and PsychInfo search from 1974 to 2009. Fifty-one studies were identified. Definition and description of burnout and measurement methods are presented followed by a thorough review of the studies. Results An examination of the burnout literature reveals that it is prevalent in medical students (28%–45%), residents (27%–75%, depending on specialty), as well as practicing physicians. Psychological distress and physical symptoms can impact work performance and patient safety. Distress during medical school can lead to burnout, which in turn can resu...

Burnout During Residency Training: A Literature Review

Medical residents in hospitals are often required to be on duty for long hours. In 2003 the organization overseeing graduate medical education adopted common program requirements to restrict resident workweeks, including limits to an average of 80 hours over 4 weeks and the longest consecutive period of work to 30 hours in order to protect patients and residents from unsafe conditions resulting from excessive fatigue.Resident Duty Hours provides a timely examination of how those requirements were implemented and their impact on safety, education, and the training institutions. An in-depth review of the evidence on sleep and human performance indicated a need to increase opportunities for sleep during residency training to prevent acute and chronic sleep deprivation and minimize the risk of fatigue-related errors. In addition to recommending opportunities for on-duty sleep during long duty periods and breaks for sleep of appropriate lengths between work periods, the committee also recommends enhancements of supervision, appropriate workload, and changes in the work environment to improve conditions for safety and learning.All residents, medical educators, those involved with academic training institutions, specialty societies, professional groups, and consumer/patient safety organizations will find this book useful to advocate for an improved culture of safety.

Resident Duty Hours: Enhancing Sleep, Supervision, and Safety

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to review current knowledge on burnout in medical residents, including reported prevalence rates, and to establish which risk and resistance factors contribute to or prevent burnout in medical residents. METHODS We conducted a comprehensive search of the literature published between 1975 and 2005, using the Medline, EMBASE (from 1989) and PsychINFO databases. RESULTS A total of 19 studies met our inclusion criteria. Only 5 studies appeared to meet more than 2 of the Cochrane quality criteria. The different studies report widely varying burnout rates among medical residents, ranging from 18% to 82%. Predictors of burnout can be characterised as either occupational or individual. Inconsistent results were reported with regard to the effects of some of these factors on burnout. Four of the 16 occupational risk factors appeared to be strongly related to burnout. The 11 individual risk factors examined were only weakly or moderately related to burnout. CONCLUSIONS Research on burnout among medical residents is scarce. The weak quality of the studies, the wide variety and limited predictive power of the predictor variables included and the inconsistent findings illustrate the need for a more systematic design with regard to future research among medical residents. A future research model should take account of the individual, occupational and training demands experienced by medical residents.

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Burnout in medical residents: a review.

Background Burnout is a complex syndrome of emotional distress that can disproportionately affect individuals who work in health care professions. Study Design For a national survey of burnout in US general surgery residents, we asked all ACGME-accredited general surgery program directors to email their general surgery residents an invitation to complete an anonymous, online survey. Burnout was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory; total scores for Emotional Exhaustion (EE), Depersonalization (DP), and Personal Accomplishment (PA) subscales were calculated. Burnout was defined as having a score in the highest tertile for EE or DP or lowest tertile for PA. Chi-square tests and one-way ANOVA were used to test associations between burnout tertiles for each subscale and various resident and training-program characteristics as appropriate. Results From April to December 2014, six hundred and sixty-five residents actively engaged in clinical training had data for analysis; 69% met the criterion for burnout on at least one subscale. Higher burnout on each subscale was reported by residents planning private practice careers compared with academic careers. A greater proportion of women than men reported burnout on EE and PA. Higher burnout on EE and DP was associated with greater work hours per week. Having a structured mentoring program was associated with lower burnout on each subscale. Conclusions The high rates of burnout among general surgery residents are concerning, given the potential impact of burnout on the quality of patient care. Efforts to identify at-risk populations and to design targeted interventions to mitigate burnout in surgical trainees are warranted.

https://www.journalacs.org/article/S1072-7515(16)30185-5/pdf

National Survey of Burnout among US General Surgery Residents

Objective: To investigate resident burnout in relation to work and home-related factors. Method: Maslach Burnout Inventory was mailed to residents in eight different medical specialties, with a response rate of 35%. Results: Overall, 50% of residents met burnout criteria, ranging from 75% (obstetrics/gynecology) to 27% (family medicine). The first year of residency, being single, personal stress, and dissatisfaction with faculty were independently associated with burnout. Conclusions: Efforts to reduce resident burnout nationally would benefit from expanding beyond the work-hours regulation.

Amy Churchill

Papers

Burnout comparison among residents in different medical specialties.