Observational study evaluating obstetric anesthesiologist residents’ well-being, anxiety and stress in a North American academic program

Abstract

BackgroundThe obstetric work environment has a unique set of stressors that may be associated with burnout. We investigated how well-being during the obstetric anesthesia (ObA) rotation compared to other rotations; which workplace environment characteristics precipitated the greatest stress; and whether anxiety and stress levels changed in trainees before and after an ObA rotation. MethodsUsing a survey, anesthesia residents (n=36) ranked their well-being on each anesthesia rotation and answered questions about their work environment. A separate survey measured anxiety and stress before and after an ObA rotation. Friedman’s test was used to compare ranking data and Likert responses. T-tests were used to compare stress and anxiety scores. ResultsResidents’ ranking of well-being on ObA was higher than that on another high demand rotation (cardiothoracic anesthesia, P=0.007). Work environment stress scores were significantly higher among community and fairness domains than for workload (P=0.002 and P=0.0001, respectively). While stress and anxiety scores did not significantly differ before and after the ObA rotation, they were higher than the reference population scores. ConclusionsWe provide the first example of tools for assessing work environment stressors in ObA. Our study illustrates that beyond excessive workload, lack of fairness and community values are areas that impact physician well-being. Use of these tools can guide initiatives to address work environment concerns, and presents a need for a validated well-being instrument to gauge physician well-being, in order to create a cultural shift from burnout to one of well-being.