• Journal: Anesthesiology

• PMID: 33667293

• Type of study: Survey

• Hypothesis: Certain workplace and personal demographic factors may be more associated with burnout symptoms than others

• Methods: Survey sent via email to all ASA members.

• Results:

  • Of 28,677 anesthesiologists contacted, 3,898 (13.6%) completed the survey

  • 59.2% were at high risk of burnout

  • 13.8% met criteria for burnout syndrome

  • Independent risk factors associated with high risk for burnout

    1. perceived lack of support at work

    2. working greater than or equal to 40 h/week

    3. identifying as lesbian gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, queer/questioning, intersex, or asexual

  • Independent risk factors associated with burnout syndrome

    1. perceived lack of support at work and home

• Strengths:

  • Maslach burnout survey well validated

  • 1st large scale study focusing on risk factors for burnout in practicing anesthesiologists in the US

  • Sample was similar to overall population of ASA members suggesting generalizability

  • Serves as a baseline to track burnout and identifies risk factors that can be intervened on to lessen burnout

• Weaknesses:

  • Survey conducted at beginning of COVID pandemic

  • Low response rate of 13.6%

  • Inherent weaknesses of surveys

    1. Selection bias

    2. Difficult to follow up on responses

    3. Truthfulness of responses

    4. Cannot determine causality

• Key Point: The prevalence of burnout among anesthesiologists is high, with workplace factors weighing heavily.

Anesthesiology. 2021 May 1;134(5):683-696