Burnout among resident doctors: An observational study

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BackgroundBurnout is a syndrome of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization that reduces efficiency at work. No studies have been reported focusing only on residency burnout and risk factors from our country until now. This study aimed to find out the impact and the association of specific demographic and practice characteristics with burnout among resident doctors. MethodsA prospective cross-sectional survey of all resident doctors under training at that point of time in 2019 in the National Academy of Medical Sciences, Nepal in different specialties was done. We evaluated demographic variables, practice characteristics, and assessed burnout through validated Maslach burnout inventory (MBI) tools, and data were analyzed. ResultsA total 347 among 410 resident doctors (227 male) responded to the survey. Median age was 30 years (range 25–44). Overall, 147 (42.4%) of responding residents were burned out with high emotional exhaustion in 58 (16.6%), high depersonalization in 55 (15.9%), and low personal achievement in 34 (9.8). In regression analysis, out of independent variables gender, marital status, having children, specialty, hours of work per week and year of residency, specialties (general surgery odds ratio [OR]; 12.595, confidence interval [CI],[ 1.037–152.9], P; 0.047), obstetrics, and gynecology (odds ratio [OR]; 13.977, confidence interval [CI]; [1.324–147.5], P; 0.028), and anesthesiology (odds ratio [OR]; 11.54, confidence interval [CI]; [1.014–131.4], P; 0.049)) and hours of work per week (≥80 h) (odds ratio [OR]; 2.511, confidence interval [CI]; [1.128–5.589], P; 0.024), were significantly associated with high burnout. ConclusionsBurnout is common among trainee resident doctors which is possibly preventable. Thus, the concern should be to prepare strategies to identify and minimize burnout from the individual, institutional, and societal sides. It is essential to preserve and promote the mental health of trainee residents to prevent serious consequences in the personal lives of resident doctors and as well as on patient outcomes.