Burnout prevalence in medical and radiation oncologists at British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA).

Abstract

6071 Background: Burnout, reported to affect 30-60% of oncology workers, is a syndrome of psychological distress typically manifesting in three dimensions: Emotional Exhaustion (EE), Depersonalization (DP) and Low Personal Accomplishment (PA). Causal factors include workload, dealing with terminally ill patients and difficulties maintaining a balance between professional and personal life. As workload rises due to increased complexity of therapy and increasing prevalence of cancer patients, burnout may increase, especially in times of financial constraint. We sought to determine the prevalence of burnout in medical and radiation oncologists working at BCCA, which provides all radiation and the majority of medical oncology services to BC’s 4.5 million people. Methods: In March 2011, BCCA oncologists were invited to participate in a confidential online survey consisting of basic demographics and the 22 item MasLach Burnout Inventory (MBI) instrument, the latter a validated tool measuring distress in the three main dimensions of burnout. Normative data for physicians were used to interpret the results. Results: Response rate was 59%, female:male 40:60% with similar response rates for medical and radiation oncology (60 v 59%). Of the 73 who indicated their age range, 34 (47%) were between 35 and 44 years old. Respondents indicated that they had considered reducing their Full Time Equivalent (FTE) (67%) or leaving BC (46%). In those with at least 2 scores at a severe level, these rates were 76% and 71% respectively. Conclusions: Over 60% of responding BCCA oncologists report burnout in at least one domain of the MBI tool. Many have considered leaving the province or reducing their hours. These data are consistent with Grunfeld’s survey of Ontario oncologists (CMAJ 2000), although the rate of burnout is higher in this survey. Further research into ways to lessen burnout in oncology is urgently needed. [Table: see text]