Background The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is considered the ''gold standard'' for measuring burnout, encompassing 3 scales: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Other well-being instruments have shown utility in various settings, and correlations between MBI and these instruments could provide evidence of relationships among key variables to guide well-being efforts.Objective We explored correlations between the MBI and other well-being instruments.
MethodsWe fielded a multicenter survey of 9 emergency medicine (EM) residencies, administering the MBI and 4 published wellbeing instruments: a quality-of-life assessment, a work-life balance rating, an appraisal of career satisfaction, and the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders Patient Health Questionnaire 2 question screen. Consistent with the Maslach definition, burnout was defined by high emotional exhaustion (. 26) and high depersonalization (. 12).
ResultsOf 334 residents, 261 (78%) responded. Residents who reported lower quality of life had higher emotional exhaustion (q ¼ -0.437, P , .0001), higher depersonalization (q ¼ -0.18, P , .005), and lower personal accomplishment (q ¼ 0.347, P , .001). Residents who reported a negative work-life balance had emotional exhaustion (P , .001) and depersonalization (P , .009). Positive career satisfaction was associated with lower emotional exhaustion (P , .0001), lower depersonalization (P , .005), and higher personal accomplishment (P , .05). A positive depression screen was associated with higher emotional exhaustion, higher depersonalization, and lower personal achievement (all P , .0001).Conclusions Our multicenter study of EM residents demonstrated that assessments using the MBI correlate with other well-being instruments.