Risk and Resilience Factors Associated with Resident Burnout

Abstract

In a cross-sectional assessment using self-report measures, we found that nearly a third of first year residents prior to starting their internships experience burnout. They exhibit lower levels of mindfulness and coping skills and higher levels of depression symptoms, fatigue, worry, and stress. These preliminary findings should encourage programs to initiate and study curricula that combine mindfulness and self-awareness coping strategies to enhance or protect against burnout as well as cognitive behavioral coaching strategies to offset symptoms of burnout when present.

A Qualitative Analysis of Stress and Relaxation Themes Contributing to Burnout in First-Year Psychiatry and Medicine Residents

“…Participants completed baseline surveys, including the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI) and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9), before the intervention (methods previously described [9]). The MBI measures burnout on three domains: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and low sense of personal accomplishment (PA).…”

“…The MBI measures burnout on three domains: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and low sense of personal accomplishment (PA). We used established cutoffs for burnout (above threshold on either the emotional exhaustion or depersonalization subscales) [9]. Participants were classified as having a positive depression screen if they had a score > 10 on the PHQ-9.…”

Perceived utility and relevance of intern well‐being sessions

“…We asked for comments on each of the lectures and provided resources. In the second part of the online survey, we investigated potential causes of stress suggested by the literature . Using The Workplace Wellbeing Module from the European Social Survey, well‐being was assessed by employees’ satisfaction with their job; work–life balance; proportion of the time their job is interesting; and proportion of time their job is stressful.…”

“…High workload, shift work, limited leave, sleep debt and overtime are commonly accepted as a normal part of the life of an intern . Interns have little spare time to engage in self‐care activities that support their health and well‐being and prior years of study may mean that they missed the opportunity to experiment with extra‐curricular activities that serve as constructive coping mechanism, thus entering internship without adaptive resilience skills in place . Intrinsic traits, such as perfectionism, may further contribute to the vulnerability of doctors to ill‐health if not skillfully managed .…”

“…Educating an intern with knowledge and skills to maximise their well‐being is one approach that may help modify the health impacts of stress in part by promoting adaptive coping mechanisms but also by creating a supportive learning and work environment . A supportive learning environment seems crucial to promoting well‐being among trainees and has been suggested to play a greater role than individual attributes, such as stress resilience …”