Family Physician Burnout and Resilience: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Current physician burnout levels are at historically high levels, especially in family medicine, with many factors playing a role. The goal of this study was to understand demographic, psychological, environmental, behavioral, and workplace characteristics that impact physician wellness and burnout, focusing on family medicine physicians and residents. Methods: Survey respondents were 295 family medicine residents and faculty members across 11 residency programs within the Residency Research Network of Texas (RRNeT). Subjects completed multiple measures to assess resilience, burnout, psychological flexibility, and workplace stress. Respondents also reported personal wellness practices and demographic information. The primary outcome variables were burnout (depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and personal achievement) and resilience. Results: The predictor variables contributed significant variance (depersonalization=27.1%, emotional exhaustion=39%, accomplishment=37.7%, resilience=37%) and resulted in large effect sizes (depersonalization f²=.371, emotional exhaustion f²=.639, accomplishment f²=.605, resilience f²=.587) among the three burnout models and the resilience model for the sample. Similar variance and effect sizes were present for independent resident and program faculty samples, with resilience being the only outcome variable with significant differences in variance between the samples. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the roles of both individual and organization change needed to impact provider wellness, with special attention to resilience across faculty and residents. The results of this study may inform workplace policies (ie, organizational practice change) and wellness programming and curricula (ie, individual level) for family medicine residents and program faculty.

Physician Stress and Burnout

“…10 Physician burnout and the resultant decreased productivity may exacerbate the previously predicted shortfall of 45,000 to 90,000 physicians in the United States by 2025. 11 Occupational stress has resulted in concern about burnout rates among emergency room physicians, 12 anesthesiologists, 13 radiologists, 14 general internists, 15 family physicians, 16 oncologists, 17 psychiatrists, 18 general surgeons, 19 trauma surgeons, 20 physiatrists, 21 cardiologists, 4 dermatologists, 22 obstetrician-gynecologists, 23 gastroenterologists, 24 residents, and even medical students. 25 In addition to worsened patient outcomes and satisfaction, physician health may be at risk.…”

Medical Students Immersed in a Hyper-Realistic Surgical Training Environment Leads to Improved Measures of Emotional Resiliency by Both Hardiness and Emotional Intelligence Evaluation

“…Hardiness refers to one's resilience and ability to cope with stressful and unexpected situations. Studies have shown that higher levels of resilience correlates to improved stress tolerance (Bartone, 1999;Kalantar et al, 2013;Sandvik et al, 2013) and may be protective effects against post-traumatic stress disorder (Bartone, 1999;Escolas et al, 2013) and burnout symptoms (Buck et al, 2019). Hardiness is characterized by challenge, the ability to be flexible and grow from failure, control, acknowledging that managing one's life is always possible and commitment, having a sense of meaning and purpose with the ability to stay motivated (Kobasa, 1979).…”

Academic Achievement, Professionalism, and Burnout in Family Medicine Residents

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hysicians in training experience high levels of burnout with associated higher rates of stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse. [1][2][3][4] Physician burnout also affects patients by predisposing doctors to make medical errors and provide poorer quality of care. 5,6 Residency training can be a particularly stressful time in a physicians' career, with prior work showing that residents at highest risk of reporting burnout are female, of non-Hispanic White ethnicity, younger, and graduates of US medical schools.

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“…5,6 Residency training can be a particularly stressful time in a physicians' career, with prior work showing that residents at highest risk of reporting burnout are female, of non-Hispanic White ethnicity, younger, and graduates of US medical schools. 1,2,[7][8][9][10] Studies have also found that burnout is more prevalent in physicians who are unmarried and who experience higher levels of family stress. 11,12 Recent literature has also linked physician burnout to psychological and interpersonal contributors like resilience, social support, and self-care practice.…”