Burnout among Medical School Faculty Members: Incidence and Demographic Characteristics at Three Medical Schools in the Busan and Gyeongnam Area of Korea

Abstract

Few studies have examined burnout among the faculty of medical schools in the Republic of Korea. The aim of this study was to determine the level of burnout and its associated factors among the faculty members of three medical schools in the Busan-Gyeongnam area, and to summarise the available literature on burnout. We conducted the survey using a validated questionnaire that incorporated the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) as well as questions about demographic characteristics, working experience, health, lifestyle, most time spent and most difficult work, and suicidal ideation and job quitting ideation of the survey participants. MBI-HSS scores were analysed in the three dimensions of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (De), and personal accomplishment (PA). Through the survey, the 186 professors, 49% among the total, provided data which were included in the present analysis. More than thirty per cent (37.1%) of the professors reported at least 1 symptom of burnout. For burnout dimensions, 11.8% of the respondents scored high for EE burnout, 25.3% for De, and 14.5% for PA, with 1.6% scoring high on all three dimensions of burnout. High burnout was found to be strongly associated with several of the variables under study, especially hours worked per week, self-rated health, career (range, 4 to 9 years), and age (range, 50 to 59 years). The EE score was highest for the professors who chose ‘patient care’ as the most difficult type of work. This study showed that just over one-third of professors have at least 1 symptom of burnout and working more hours per week, short length of work (years), and especially suicidal ideation seem to be associated with the burnout of medical school faculty members in the Busan-Gyeongnam area. In summary, a greater risk of burnout of physicians (including medical professors) seems to be associated with specialties at the front line of care, working more hours per week, work-life imbalance, low self-efficacy, depression, and conflicts with colleagues and patients.