Burnout in Psychiatrists: An Etiological Model

Abstract

Research is needed on the long-term effects of work-place stress on psychiatrists, to identify possible protective factors, and to utilize this information to inform the design of interventions that protect or mitigate the effects of work-place stress on psychiatrists.

Health risk behaviors and morbidity among hospital staff − comparison across hospital ward medical specialties in a study of 21 Finnish hospitals

“…Our findings are in agreement with earlier mainly cross-sectional studies focused on specialized physicians, as they show higher rates of self-reported burnout, mental disorders, and smoking among psychiatrists when compared to other physicians (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10), and studies showing more favorable health behaviors among surgeons and pediatricians (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12). We found that the differences between specialties in our study with the majority of participants being nurses were quite similar to those reported for physicians.…”

“…In hospital settings, there is some evidence to suggest differences in health and health behaviors between staff working in different specialties (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21). Studies of physicians show elevated rates of "burnout", mental disorders, substance use, and suicide among psychiatrists, anesthesiologists, and physicians working in emergency or primary care although the association is not robust (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). In contrast, surgeons and pediatricians have reported lower rates of substance use (7), although this is not a universal finding (9,10).…”

Burnout, occupational stressors, and social support in psychiatric and medical trainees

“…Present findings seem to contradict previous studies suggesting that psychiatrists experience higher work-related distress 4 . Although, as suggested above, this may have been the result of non-response bias, alternative explanations are also possible.…”

“…Psychiatrists have reported higher levels of depression 1 misuse of licit and illicit substances 2 , personal or family psychiatric history 3 , and negative personality attributes like neuroticism, agreeableness, and lack of conscientiousness 1 . Studies also suggest that psychiatrists experience higher work-related distress 4 . In the UK, psychiatrists of various seniority levels seem to experience higher work-related emotional exhaustion than their general medical or surgical colleagues, although they report fewer clinical work demands 1 .…”

Improving the health of psychiatrists

“…A number of cross-sectional studies have reported higher rates of depression (Deary et al, 1996) and burnout among psychiatrists (Kumar et al, 2005) than among doctors from other specialties. Longitudinal studies in the UK also suggest that psychiatrists as a group suffer from particularly high levels of stress, with the highest levels of job dissatisfaction and, together with laboratory-based doctors, the highest levels of depression.…”