A national survey on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon burnout and career satisfaction among neurosurgery residents

Abstract

Highlights U.S. neurosurgery residents report moderate burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. Neurosurgery residents report uncertainty about future healthcare reform & earnings. The COVID-19 pandemic may impair residents’ achievement of surgical milestones. Burnout is associated with altered rotation or vacation schedules and lower PGY. Career satisfaction is associated with delivery of neurosurgical patient care.

Experiences and management of physician psychological symptoms during infectious disease outbreaks: a rapid review

“…Sixty-one studies reported on fear related to an infectious disease outbreak [ 29 – 31 , 35 – 37 , 43 , 46 , 53 , 55 , 61 , 64 , 72 , 74 , 78 – 83 , 85 – 87 , 94 , 95 , 99 , 100 , 107 – 109 , 115 , 117 , 119 , 123 , 128 , 131 , 132 , 134 , 142 , 146 , 147 , 155 – 173 ]. Most of the studies ( n = 52) reported physician’s fear of infecting themselves or their family.…”

“…Physicians reported the importance of having social support from friends, family, colleagues, and professionals (e.g., counsellors) in 29 studies [ 28 , 30 , 39 , 43 , 44 , 48 , 56 , 58 , 67 , 72 , 78 , 83 , 91 , 99 , 102 , 106 , 115 , 119 , 131 , 150 , 155 , 163 , 172 , 192 , 202 – 205 ]. Several studies ( n = 29) described positive personal coping strategies such as maintaining a positive attitude and resilience [ 37 , 46 , 83 , 100 , 106 , 108 , 136 , 202 , 205 , 206 ], practicing self-care (e.g., physical activity, eating well, resting, engaging in activities they enjoy) [ 30 , 35 , 56 , 65 , 70 , 91 , 102 , 103 , 117 , 119 , 129 , 131 , 150 , 151 , 207 ], and engaging with religious practices [ 39 , 46 , 131 , 205 ] as a way to mitigate negative psychological outcomes. In contrast, two studies reported that physicians engaged in avoidance coping strategies (e.g., screaming, crying, denial, self-blame, disengaging, substance abuse, etc.)…”

“…The most common psychological symptoms measured with surveys or validated questionnaires reported included anxiety (n = 103), depression (n = 73), stress (n = 68), fear (n = 61), burnout (n = 25), mental distress/health (n = 21), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (n = 14) (Additional File 3). Most COVID-19 studies reported on physicians from USA (n = 23) [41,52,66,70,77,[90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107], China (n = 22) [15, 49, 54-56, 65, 68, 73, 86, 89, 102, 108-118] followed by India (n = 21) [40,50,58,63,67,71,102,[119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129][130][131][132] [41,52,…”

“…Physicians reported the importance of having social support from friends, family, colleagues, and professionals (e.g., counsellors) in 29 studies [28,30,39,43,44,48,56,58,67,72,78,83,91,99,102,106,115,119,131,150,155,163,172,192,[202][203][204][205]. Several studies (n = 29) described positive personal coping strategies such as maintaining a positive attitude and resilience [37,46,83,100,106,108,136,202,205,206], practicing self-care (e.g., physical activity, eating well, resting, engaging in activities they enjoy) [30,35,56,65,70,91,102,103,117,119,…”

Experiences of a Health System’s Faculty, Staff, and Trainees’ Career Development, Work Culture, and Childcare Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…In addition, for those who work in a clinical setting, several studies have shown that there is substantially higher stress for health care workers during the pandemic compared with before the pandemic. 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 These life changes are associated with serious concerns about the impact on the careers and well-being of faculty, staff, and trainees. Several recent studies 5 have examined the effects of burnout, stress, depression, and anxiety on frontline medical staff during the global pandemic.…”