Burnout among emergency medicine residents

Abstract

Background: The emergency medicine department is the hub of most activity in any healthcare institution, with the most critical patients present and demand the most urgent care. However, dealing with that working day in and day out, throughout the extensive training period, has many adverse bodily and mental effects on the emergency medicine residents, the most problematic among which is burnout. The aim was to study the prevalence of burnout among emergency medicine residents.

Methodology: This observational, cross-sectional analysis was conducted upon a sample of 54 emergency medicine residents selected via non-probability convenience sampling from 3 different tertiary care teaching hospitals at Karachi. After taking written informed consent, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to assess burnout and its sub-components (depersonalization, emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment). Additionally, basic biodata, sociodemographic details, distress at work were inquired and recorded onto a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0.

Results: Among the 54 residents enrolled in the study, 68.52% were males, while 31.48% were females. The mean age of the sample stood at 29.0±2.0 years. The mean duration of working in the emergency department was 2.0±1.0 years. Mean burnout scores were 28.4 for emotional exhaustion (high), 9.3 for depersonalization (moderate), and 31.47 for personal accomplishment (moderate). The most commonly reported stressors at work included unruly patients and attendants, lack of timely cooperation by healthcare professionals from other departments, breaking bad news, and work overload.

Conclusion: After careful consideration, it can be concluded that burnout is prevalent among emergency medicine residents, and steps must be taken to prevent the already distraught and scarce emergency medicine personnel from falling into dysfunction due to burnout.