Burnout amongst cardiology fellows and internal medicine residents in tertiary cardiac centres

Abstract

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Burnout is an occupational hazard in medicine and affects more than one-quarter of US cardiologists and fellows in training. The absence of burnout does not indicate well-being; however, along the continuum of clinician well-being, burnout is one of the more severe negative components. Clinician well-being is an imperative component of health care and can be broadly defined as experiencing wellness (optimized physical and mental health), resiliency, and professional fulfilment. Burnout is not the result of an individual’s weakness but is due to work-related stresses, including excessive workload, moral injury, and cognitive dissonance. Strategies must be developed both to address burnout and to improve and sustain clinician well-being. Similar to the concept of cardiovascular disease prevention, secondary prevention is accomplished with tactics directed to prevent recurrent burnout; however, targeted investment in primordial and primary prevention is also crucial to mitigate burnout and to cultivate esprit de corps. Purpose To assess burnout syndrome prevalence amongst cardiology fellows and internal medicine residents in tertiary cardiac centres. Methods This is a multicenter cross-sectional study conducted in three major cardiac tertiary hospitals. The Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel (MBI-HSS (MP)) with its three elements of Emotional Exhaustion (EE), Depersonalization (DP), and Personal Accomplishment (PA), was used to assess burnout in cardiology fellows and internal medicine (IM) residents rotating in cardiology in three tertiary cardiac centres from March to June 2021. Questionnaires were entered online using Google docs application and then analyzed using SPSS (Version 25). Results Of 47 respondents, 66% were IM residents, while 34% were cardiology fellows. The mean age was 31.53(+/- 3.694) years. High burnout scores in the three elements of the questionnaire, namely EE, DP, and PA, were recorded in 23.4%, 61.7%,46.8% of the respondents, respectively. Burnout was recorded in 10.6% of the participants. No significant correlation was seen between high burnout scores and gender, marital status, study location, or whether the respondent was a fellow or IM resident. Conclusion Prevalence of burnout is high in our study population, especially in the sphere of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and was not related to marital status, gender, hospital location, or level of training.