Increased emphasis on wellness in the years since the prior study in 2013 will have resulted in a lower incidence of burnout and depression in anesthesiology trainees.
Methods
Survey
Sent in February, 2021
1000 trainees contacted
Utilized ASA database
$20 gift card for completed surveys
33-item questionnaire
Questions on:
Burnout: Used 2-item Maslach Burnout Questionnaire
Depression: Used 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire-2
Job satisfaction
Family support
Work characteristics
Demographics
Self-reports of errors at work
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic
Results
384 Responses (38.4% response rate)
High burnout risk: 24%
Multivariable logistic regression for high burnout risk
Married or domestic partnership: OR 0.52
Working 7 or more night calls per month: OR 2.56
Working 70 or more hours per week: OR 3.11
Depression: 15%
Multivariable logistic regression for high depresson risk
Married or domestic partnership: OR 0.50
Working 70 or more hours per week: OR 4.07
High burnout and depression: 10%
10% of trainees with high burnout/depression risk reported often/multiple times falling short in the quality of care they provide vs. 0.36% of low-risk trainees
22% of trainees with high burnout/depression risk reported often/multiple times not having enough time to attend to patients vs. 4% of low-risk trainees
Strengths
Timely and relevant topic
Used validated screening tools
Participants randomly selected from ASA database
Includes self-reported patient safety info
Collected a variety of information (more than just burnout/depression incidence)
Weaknesses
Interchange the terms "burnout" and "burnout risk"
No ability to track individuals responses over time
Didn't ask about some significant risk factors for burnout and depression from 2013 survey
Didn’t assess the ways trainees cope with burnout/depression
Didn’t evaluate some significant factors from previous survey
38% response rate
Key Point: Twenty-four percent of respondents met the criteria for high burnout risk and 15% of the respondents screened positive for depression, which are both decreases from the prior study in 2013.