Burnout and Doctors: Prevalence, Prevention and Intervention

Abstract

Doctors are exposed to high levels of stress in the course of their profession and are particularly susceptible to experiencing burnout. Burnout has far-reaching implications on doctors; patients and the healthcare system. Doctors experiencing burnout are reported to be at a higher risk of making poor decisions; display hostile attitude toward patients; make more medical errors; and have difficult relationships with co-workers. Burnout among doctors also increases risk of depression; anxiety; sleep disturbances; fatigue; alcohol and drug misuse; marital dysfunction; premature retirement and perhaps most seriously suicide. Sources of stress in medical practice may range from the emotions arising in the context of patient care to the environment in which doctors practice. The extent of burnout may vary depending on the practice setting; speciality and changing work environment. Understanding dynamic risk factors associated with burnout may help us develop strategies for preventing and treating burnout. Some of these strategies will be reviewed in this paper.

Urologist burnout: Frequency, causes, and potential solutions to an unspoken entity

“…Although there is a paucity of well-designed studies on interventions for established burnout among physicians, in particular urologists, the most optimum strategy appears to be employing a combination of education (even in the form of a professional development coaching program for resident physicians), early recognition and intervention (Kumar, 2016; Palamara, Kauffman, Stone, Bazari, & Donelan, 2015). For example, members of the internal medicine department at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston instituted a professional development coaching program which included curriculum development, coach-intern interactions and evaluative metrics.…”

Propiedades psicométricas del "Cuestionario para el Evaluación del Síndrome de Quemarse por el Trabajo" (CESQT) en profesionales de la salud italianos: una perspectiva de género

“…Por otra parte, el estrés laboral está generalizado entre los profesionales de enfermería (Happell et al, 2013), y este colectivo presenta con frecuencia niveles elevados de estrés laboral. Algunos estudios sobre SQT han concluido que entre los médicos el porcentaje de SQT puede estar entre el 30% y el 40% (Wallace, Lemaire, & Ghali, 2009), o incluso puede ser superior en USA (Kumar, 2016;Shanafelt et al, 2012) y en países de Latinoamérica (Castañeda & García, 2010). Klersy et al (2007) en un estudio con médicos y enfermeras en Italia concluyeron que la prevalencia del SQT en profesionales de enfermería estaba en el 30%, y en el 18% en el caso de los médicos.…”

Burnout among doctors

“…Despite these variations, the overall evidence suggests that many doctors will experience burnout in their careers, that burnout rates are rising and have reached an "epidemic level," 5 7 and that burnout can have devastating consequences for affected doctors, their colleagues, their patients, and the healthcare system. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] …”

“…2 3 Burnout is generally high among doctors globally, although the exact rates vary by country, medical specialty, practice setting, gender, and career stage. [3][4][5][6][7] Estimates also vary depending on which dimension of burnout is being considered (eg, exhaustion, depersonalisation, or professional inefficacy) and what degree of burnout is considered important. Despite these variations, the overall evidence suggests that many doctors will experience burnout in their careers, that burnout rates are rising and have reached an "epidemic level," 5 7 and that burnout can have devastating consequences for affected doctors, their colleagues, their patients, and the healthcare system.…”

“…Despite these variations, the overall evidence suggests that many doctors will experience burnout in their careers, that burnout rates are rising and have reached an "epidemic level," 5 7 and that burnout can have devastating consequences for affected doctors, their colleagues, their patients, and the healthcare system. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] The source of burnout can lie within individuals (eg, perfectionism or relying on denial and avoidance as coping strategies), the medical profession (eg, the conspiracy of silence, the blame culture of medicine, the tendency to ignore distress), and healthcare organisations (eg, the burden of electronic medical records, changing work environments, poor leadership). [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Solutions, however, have traditionally focused on individual physicians and their resilience.…”