Medical residents are facing burnout, who are at stake? A cross-sectional study in three university hospitals in Istanbul

Abstract

Objective: Residency has become a vulnerable period for burnout among physicians because many common and specific stress factors in healthcare. Our study aims to evaluate the burnout level among medical residents in three tertiary care hospitals and to identify the relationship between socio-demographic and occupational factors with the burnout level. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in December 2019. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires from 490 residents (64.2% of 763 eligible) who work at hospitals of three medical oriented universities in Istanbul, Turkey. Results: Mean scores for subscales of Maslach Burnout Inventory (Turkish adaptation) are 19.1±7.7 for Emotional Exhaustion, 7.3±4.3 for Depersonalization, and 20.7±5.1 for Personal Achievement. Female residents or residents who pursue surgical specialties or have more night shifts, experience more Emotional Exhaustion than their counterparts. Depersonalization increases accordingly with the increase of years in residency and the number of night shifts. Residents working at the hospital of foundation universities feel higher Personal Achievement than those of the state university. Conclusion: The burnout level of the participants is concerning and appears to be influenced by several modifiable occupational factors. Particularly, the impact of each year of residency training and the number of shifts should be considered carefully.