Factors influencing resilience and burnout among resident physicians - a National Survey

Cristina Nituica,Chin-I Cheng,Gus J Slotman,John Blebea,Oana Alina Bota

doi:10.1186/s12909-021-02950-y

Abstract

BackgroundResidency training exposes young physicians to a challenging and high-stress environment, making them vulnerable to burnout. Burnout syndrome not only compromises the health and wellness of resident physicians but has also been linked to prescription errors, reduction in the quality of medical care, and decreased professionalism. This study explored burnout and factors influencing resilience among U.S. resident physicians.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey, which was distributed to all accredited residency programs by Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The survey included the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC 25), Abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory, and socio-demographic characteristics questions. The association between burnout, resilience, and socio-demographic characteristics were examined.ResultsThe 682 respondents had a mean CD-RISC score of 72.41 (Standard Deviation = 12.1), which was equivalent to the bottom 25th percentile of the general population. Males and upper-level trainees were more resilient than females and junior residents. No significant differences in resilience were found associated with age, race, marital status, or training program type. Resilience positively correlated with personal achievement, family, and institutional support (p < 0.001) and negatively associated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (p < 0.001).ConclusionsHigh resilience, family, and institutional support were associated with a lower risk of burnout, supporting the need for developing a resilience training program to promote a lifetime of mental wellness for future physicians.

Highlights

Residency training exposes young physicians to a challenging and high-stress environment, making them vulnerable to burnout
Resilience is recognized as an indicator of psychological maturity [13, 14] and can help residents to cope with the stress inherent in training and their subsequent lives as physicians
An email invitation to participate in the survey was sent to all residency training program directors and/or program coordinators listed online by Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDATM) in the United States requesting that they forward the survey link to their residents

Summary

Introduction

Residency training exposes young physicians to a challenging and high-stress environment, making them vulnerable to burnout. Burnout syndrome compromises the health and wellness of resident physicians but has been linked to prescription errors, reduction in the quality of medical care, and decreased professionalism. This study explored burnout and factors influencing resilience among U.S resident physicians. Post-graduate medical residency training, along with continuing changes in modern healthcare, not to mention the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, creates a stressful environment and increased risk of burnout. As a response to this concerning situation among residents in training, resilience is receiving more attention because of its potential to positively influence health and wellbeing and counter the negative effects of burnout [2, 12]. Can be expected to decrease the development and negative sequel of burnout

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Discussion

Conclusion