ABSTRACT
Background: Burnout is a condition where people feel disconnected from themselves, extremely tired emotionally, and have a feeling of not achieving much. We don’t have much information about burnout in doctors who are still in training or how it affects the way they take care of patients.
Aim: To investigate the incidence of burnout among medical residents and their association with self-described treatment of patients’ practices.
Methods: To determine burnout, researchers used a tool called the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which measures the level of burnout experienced by medical professionals. High scores on the depersonalization or emotional exhaustion sections of the inventory indicated burnout. In addition, participants were asked five specific questions about their patient care practices, which could suggest less than optimal care. These questions assessed behaviors such as not fully discussing treatment options or making errors that were unrelated to knowledge or experience. The researchers also evaluated despair and at-danger alcohol usage through exploitation of reliable questionnaires designed for screening these conditions.
Results: Out of the 126 residents who responded to the survey (which is about 79% of the total), 92 residents (which is about 72%) showed signs of burnout. When comparing the burned-out residents to those who weren’t burned out, it was found that burned-out residents were much more likely to admit that they provided suboptimal patient care at least once a month (55% compared to 22%). This change was substantial (P < 0.005). In analysis that took into account various factors, such as gender, despair, at-risk alcohol use, and burnout, it remained found that burnout was strongly linked to self-reported suboptimal patient care practices happening at least once a month. The odds of reporting such practices were 8.3 times higher for burned-out residents compared to those who were not burned out. The association was not as strong for factors like gender, despair, or at-danger alcohol use. When each aspect of burnout was assessed separately, this was found that only very high score in depersonalization remained linked to self-described suboptimal health care experiences. This relationship followed the dose-retort pattern, meaning that as the level of depersonalization increased, the likelihood of reporting suboptimal patient care practices also increased.
Conclusion: Many resident
doctors experienced burnout, and this burnout was linked to admitting that they provided suboptimal patient care practices.
Keywords: Burnout, medical residents, Internal Medicine.