<p>Assessment of Occupational Stress Among Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and Residents in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study</p>

Abstract

Purpose: Considering the important role of oral and maxillofacial surgeons in healthcare services and the stressful nature of their job, this study aimed to assess the occupational stress among oral and maxillofacial surgeons and residents in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional questionnaires were developed, and they included the perceived stress scale and questions about potential sources of stress. A sample size of 180 was determined using a 0.05 level of significance and a precision of ±8%. The survey was distributed using a consecutive non-random sampling method to all oral and maxillofacial surgeons and residents in all regions in Saudi Arabia from May to December 2019. Results: One hundred and seventy-two responses were received. Males were the predominant gender. The perceived stress scale revealed a moderate stress level among surgeons and residents. However, residents had a significantly higher score (P = 0.005). Increased working days were significantly associated with higher stress levels (P = 0.006). Long on-call periods were significantly and positively correlated with increased stress levels among residents since their work schedule was not flexible (P = 0.000). The majority of surgeons and residents believe that they have unconducive and stressful work environments and that working as a maxillofacial surgeon is stressful. Conclusion: The study results suggest that there is increased occupational stress among oral and maxillofacial surgeons and residents in Saudi Arabia. This study highlights the need for stress management programs to minimize stress factors at the workplace and to ensure a healthy working environment for the practitioners.

Extent of Ambidexterity Among Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons in Southern region of India: An Evaluative Study

“…They deal with patients who are under extreme physical and emotional distress as a result of pain, traumatic injury, disfiguring tumors and facial deformities [8]. Hence, studies have shown that an oral and maxillofacial surgeon is more prone to occupational stress [2,3,[8][9][10].…”

“…It is evident from previous studies that professional burnout would not only impair the quality of life of the professional but also invariably impair the quality of patient care delivered by the professional by increasing the risk of surgical errors [10,11]. A surgeon who has the ability to use his/her both hands in a near-equal manner would permit him/her to perform surgical interventions efficiently particularly in complex anatomical regions of the body in addition to reducing the associated professional burnout.…”

Burnout in oral and maxillofacial surgeons in Brazilian population during the COVID-19 pandemic: a critical analysis

“…Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) is an oral medicine specialty that encompasses professional training for several types of health service provision, such as in-and outpatient as well as on-call services, carrying out complex surgical procedures (LaPorta, 2010;AlKindi et al, 2020).…”

“…Moreover, OMFS residents must also participate in planning procedures, diagnostic evaluations, and other activities outside the operating room, aggravating the already intense workload (AlKindi et al, 2020).…”

“…The duties of an OMFS surgeon are challenging, as they require intellectual and administrative skills, decisionmaking authority, high complexity tasks, such as managing urgencies and emergencies, and high overall demand with extensive working hours and a great number of patients. The OMFS specialty demands resoluteness, precision, efficiency, and effectiveness while also requiring empathetic handling of patients with physical and emotional distress, extreme pain, traumatic injuries, disfiguring tumors, in addition to the risk of death (LaPorta, 2010;AlKindi et al, 2020).…”