AimsThere is a critical shortage of Orthopedic Surgeons in Malawi as well as all countries in sub-Saharan Africa. To date, there is no published literature that has investigated surgical or Orthopedic career selection amongst African medical trainees. With the goal of facilitating recruitment into Surgery and Orthopedics in Malawi, we explored the key aspects of Malawian Medical Students' choice of careers in surgical disciplines.
Background: Physician health is of increasing concern in health care systems. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of distress among orthopedic surgeons and trainees and to identify factors associated with distress.Methods: Voluntary, anonymous online surveys were sent to attending orthopedic surgeons and orthopedic trainees across Canada. The survey for attending surgeons used the Expanded Physician Well-Being Index, and the survey for trainees used the Resident/ Fellow Well-Being Index. Demographic information was also collected. To look for predictors of physician distress, we evaluated the relationship between respondents' classification as "distressed" and "not distressed" against demographic factors.Results: In total, 1138 attending orthopedic surgeons and 493 orthopedic trainees were invited to complete the survey. The survey response rate was 31.2% for attending orthopedic surgeons and 24.3% for orthopedic trainees. Overall, 55.4% of attending surgeons and 40.0% of trainees screened positive for distress. Among both attending surgeons and trainees, having dependents was not a risk factor for distress, nor was gender. Practice location was not a risk factor for distress among attending surgeons. Attending surgeons who were classified as distressed had spent significantly fewer years in practice (median 11 yr) than those who were classified as "not distressed" (median 16 yr) (p = 0.004).
Conclusion:We found a higher rate of distress among orthopedic surgeons than has been previously reported. The distress rate among orthopedic trainees in this population is similar to that reported in other international publications, although self-reported rates of burnout were higher. The findings from this study may indicate a need for continuing research to determine intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors for distress among orthopedic surgeons and trainees and for the evaluation of prescriptive, evidence-based initiatives to address this crisis.Contexte : La santé des médecins est une préoccupation de plus en plus importante dans les systèmes de santé. Cette étude visait à déterminer la prévalence de la détresse chez les chirurgiens orthopédistes et les stagiaires en orthopédie, et à identifier les facteurs associés à la détresse.
Conclusion :Le taux de détresse chez les chirurgiens orthopédistes était plus élevé que celui rapporté par le passé. Le taux de détresse chez les stagiaires sondés était similaire à celui présenté dans d'autres publications internationales, bien que le taux d'épuisement professionnel autodéclaré était plus élevé. Les conclusions de cette étude pourraient indiquer la nécessité de poursuivre la recherche sur les facteurs de risques intrinsèques et extrinsèques de la détresse chez les chirurgiens orthopédistes et les stagiaires en orthopédie ainsi que le besoin d'évaluer des initiatives prescriptives fondées sur des données probantes pour remédier à cette crise.
hysician burnout has negative effects on patient safety and quality of care, and may contribute to medical errors. 1 There is a growing literature on wellbeing in specific medical and surgical specialties overseas, but information about specialty-specific wellbeing in Australia is limited. 2,3
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